Box Score

Missouri Western MWSU 13-17

Central Oklahoma UCO 22-7

Missouri Western MWSU

13-17

Final

Mar. 01, 2018

Central Oklahoma UCO

22-7

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Missouri Western MWSU	7	13	14	15	49
Central Oklahoma UCO	10	11	12	13	46

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | 3/1/2018 10:45:00 PM | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Fall in MIAA Quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team lost 49-46 to Missouri Western in the quarterfinals of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association postseason tournament at Municipal Auditorium Thursday night.

UCO dropped to 22-7 with the loss, and now will sit and wait for the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Sunday night to find out if its season is over or not.

The Bronchos Thursday had trouble on the offensive end throughout the game against Western. UCO finished just 17-for-44 from the floor, and made only one 3-pointer on 12 attempts.

Blake Blessington led UCO with 13 points, but was 0-for-4 from behind the arc and a rare 3-for-5 from the free-throw line. Melinda Murillo scored 11, going 4-for-10 from the floor. Jesheon Cooper scored eight, had 10 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

"That was some ugly basketball," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "We played great on defense, held Missouri Western to more than 10 points below our own defensive average, and that's pretty good. But we couldn't make a shot for anything."

Central Oklahoma got out to a sluggish start on offense in the first quarter, but used its patented suffocating defense to keep Missouri Western down too. Despite shooting just 4-for-13 from the field in the first quarter, Murillo sank a 3-pointer with three seconds left on the clock and UCO held a 10-7 lead.

UCO didn't fare better on offense in the second quarter, shooting 3-for-10 in the frame. But again, Central's defense kept the Bronchos in the game. And, like the first, Blessington knocked down a jumper with six seconds left on the clock to give the Bronchos a 21-20 lead.

After halftime, Central came out and earned an easy lay-up on the first possession. That gave the Bronchos a 23-20 lead. But the offensive struggles continued. Missouri Western then found its shot, knocking down a string of shots to go on a 10-0 run.

Then the Bronchos took their turn making a 10-0 run. Blessington ended the Western run with a floater in the lane to make it 30-25. Then a turnover and a Shatoya Bryson layup made it 30-27. Ireon Smith tied the game to with an and-1 layup with 2:15 to play in the quarter. Then a 3-point play by Blessington with an and-1 layup of her won made it 33-30.

Western added a pair of late jumpers and the game headed to the final quarter 34-32 with the Bronchos needing a comeback.

Murillo helped, scoring six straight to give UCO a 39-38 lead just over six minutes to play. Missouri Western then made a run to go up 46-39 with just under four minutes to play.

UCO would get within three following a jumper by Jo'Nah Johnson and a layup from Blessington. But the Bronchos couldn't get any closer.

Johnson missed a late three, Cooper missed a pair of late jumpers, and Bryson missed a key late free throw as Missouri Western held on for the win.

Central Oklahoma is ranked sixth in the NCAA Central Region. The top-eight schools make the postseason with three automatic qualifiers from the MIAA, the Great American Conference, and the Northern Sun. UCO earned one of the five at-large bids last season, and now will hope for the same next week.

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