Women's Basketball 11/19/2018 1:39:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central Visits Puerto Rico For Holiday

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team is headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico this week for three games in three days at the Division II Puerto Rico Clasico.

The Bronchos will take on Augustana (S.D.) on Thursday at 3 p.m., New Haven (Conn.) on Friday at 3 p.m., and Puerto Rico Bayamon on Saturday at 7 p.m. All games are Atlantic Standard Time – two hours ahead of Oklahoma time – and will be aired live on Flohoops, an internet broadcasting company.

"This will be a great opportunity for the team in a couple of different ways," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "The experience itself is one thing. The team is going to be able to have fun and do something that not everyone gets to do. And then the teams we are going to play are going to be good. It's going to be a fun experience and a good chance for us to grow as a team and get better."

Central Oklahoma is 4-0 this season. The Bronchos won a pair of neutral-site games against Northwestern Oklahoma State and East Central to open the season at a conference crossover between the MIAA and the GAC. UCO then won a true road game at Cameron before crushing Oklahoma Christian in its home debut last week.

The Bronchos are averaging 74.2 points per game this season and are shooting a combined 41.9 percent in its first four games. UCO is only allowing 52.2 points per game and is holding its opponents to a combined 32.7 field goal percentage.

Shatoya Bryson and Ireon Smith are the two Bronchos averaging double figures in scoring this season. Both juniors, Bryson is scoring 10.8 points per game while Smith is pouring in 10.5 ppg.

Bryson also averages 5.5 rebounds per game, 4.9 assists per game, and 3.1 steals per game. Her 13 steals rank fourth in NCAA Division II through the first three weeks of the 2018-19 season. Smith is the team's leading rebounder at 8.0 per game and also adds 1.1 steals per game and 1.0 block per game.

Central Oklahoma also has four more players scoring at least eight points per game.

Megan Hartness is averaging nine points per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. Micayla Haynes is averaging 8.8 points per game, just over two assists per game and just under two steals per game. Blake Blessington and Madison Lee are both averaging 8.3 points per game this season and both are also averaging 2.2 assists per game. Blessington's 5.8 rebounds per game is also second on the team.

Augustana is 4-0 as well this season. The Vikings of Sioux Falls, S.D. average 82.8 points per game and shoot as a team 47 percent from the floor. Auggie allows 59.8 points per game and holds its opponents to a meager 32.6 percent shooting. Augustana also averages nine 3-pointers per game, having made one more three in four games than the Bronchos.

New Haven is 2-1 this season and the Chargers average 63.3 points per game. NHU allows 47.3 points per game. The team is shooting just over 40 percent from the floor through three games this season and averaged five made 3-pointers per game.

Puerto Rico Bayamon, an NCAA Division II independent school, is 1-1 on the season.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Blake Blessington: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#21 Shatoya Bryson: G; 5' 8"; Junior

#32 Megan Hartness: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#4 Madison Lee: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#24 Ireon Smith: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#34 Micayla Haynes: G; 5' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#13 Blake Blessington
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#21 Shatoya Bryson
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

#32 Megan Hartness
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#4 Madison Lee
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#24 Ireon Smith
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#34 Micayla Haynes
: 5' 5"; Junior
: G