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Megan Womack
Megan Womack
60
Central Oklahoma UCO 22-6, 13-6 MIAA
76
Winner Emporia State ESU 24-4, 15-4 MIAA
Central Oklahoma UCO
22-6, 13-6 MIAA
60
Final
76
Emporia State ESU
24-4, 15-4 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 19 16 11 14 60
Emporia State ESU 17 28 11 20 76

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

No. 24 UCO ends regular season with loss at Emporia State

EMPORIA, Kan. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team Saturday lost 76-60 to Emporia State in the final regular season game of the year.

The Bronchos finished 13-6 in conference play – good for a fifth-place finish in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. UCO will host a first-round MIAA Tournament game on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. against the 12-seed Northwest Missouri.

Saturday, the Bronchos ran into some offensive struggles in the second half, and couldn't keep pace with an Emporia State team celebrating one of the best players in the country's final game.

Kelly Moten, an All-American last year, almost recorded a triple-double Saturday against the Bronchos. Moten scored 27 points in her final home game, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds. UCO struggled to keep pace.

Olivia Mason scored 11 points to lead Central Oklahoma, as did Melinda Murillo. Marley Anderson scored 10 on 2 of 12 shooting. UCO got a balanced scoring attack Saturday, but no other Broncho hit double-figures.

Jesheon Cooper scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked five shots. Blake Blessington and Megan Womack each scored six, Hayley Bryan added five, and Shatoya Bryson scored three.

"We did really well moving the ball, and moving without the ball in the first half," UCO head coach Guy Hardaker said. "We didn't do that in the second half. And it's hard to win a game not doing that while they were knocking down 13 3-pointers."

The Bronchos were 1 of 10 on 3-pointer's Saturday, a season-low. UCO is a near-40 percent shooting team that averages seven made 3-pointers per game.

UCO and Emporia State staged a battle in the first period. Emporia State held the early lead and UCO took over midway through the opening period. With the game tied 17-17 on the final possession, Womack put in a layup as time expired to give the Bronchos the early edge.

Emporia State responded in the second half, making 10 of 18 shots including five 3-pointers. Central found itself in a 45-35 deficit at halftime.

The teams once again played to a draw in the third period. Both teams cooled off scoring 11 each. And UCO would have to dig out of a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to get the win. UCO finished the game shooting just 4 of 16 in the fourth as Emporia State pulled away late.

The Bronchos face Northwest Missouri Tuesday, a team they beat 68-58 on Nov. 30.
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