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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Jo'Nah Johnson
59
Central Oklahoma UCO 17-5 (8-5 MIAA)
71
Winner Southwest Baptist SBU 14-8 (6-7 MIAA)
Central Oklahoma UCO
17-5 (8-5 MIAA)
59
Final
71
Southwest Baptist SBU
14-8 (6-7 MIAA)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 20 13 17 9 59
Southwest Baptist SBU 16 20 21 14 71

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Drops Road Contest At SBU

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball lost back-to-back games for the first time this season after falling short at Southwest Baptist, 71-59, Saturday afternoon in a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association matchup.
 
Melinda Murillo and Blake Blessington both scored 16 points to lead the Bronchos, and Jo'Nah Johnson added 13, but UCO didn't get much more offensive support, and gave Southwest Baptist too many trips to the free-throw line throughout the game. UCO falls to 17-5 on the season, 8-5 in league play.
 
"Our offense struggled in the second half to find a rhythm and SBU just did a good job of being consistent," UCO assistant head coach Heather Davis said. "They were consistent enough that as soon as we hit a rut, they pulled away. We need to work on trying to find that consistency if we want to get back to winning games."
 
Central led early Saturday, but its biggest lead was just four points at the end of the first quarter. UCO led 20-16 after one frame. SBU tied the game three minutes into the second quarter, and after a brief back-and-forth, took the lead for good at the 5:16 mark of the quarter.
 
Murillo made a layup with seven seconds left to cut the SBU lead to three at halftime, 36-33.
 
In the third quarter, Southwest extended its lead to seven points. SBU's free-throw advantage took a big jump in the third, with the Bearcats taking 12 from the line in the quarter. SBU made 10 of those and took a 57-50 lead into the final quarter.
 
That's when UCO's offense sputtered out. The Bronchos were just 3-for-17 from the floor in the final quarter. UCO finished the game shooting 34 percent, including a staggering 2-for-15, 13.3 percent from behind the arc. SBU finished the day making 25 of 30 free-throws to Central's 11-for-14.
 
UCO got eight points off the bench from Megan Hartness Saturday, and another three from Shatoya Bryson. Madison Lee had two points in a start, and Jesheon Cooper had one point. Cooper did add a team-high 12 rebounds and six blocked shots.
 
Central's first two-game slide of the season comes at a tough time. The Bronchos have slipped from second to sixth in the league standings. Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State, both of which come to Edmond next week, followed by a Broncho trip to their respective places the week after, have moved ahead of Central.
 
The next two weeks for the Bronchos can involve a lot of movement toward its postseason fate, in either direction.
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