Women's Basketball 1/30/2019 9:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Hosts Southwest Baptist Thursday

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EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team returns to Hamilton Field House Thursday to take on Southwest Baptist at 5:30 p.m. in a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association matchup.

The Bronchos enter this week's slate with a 13-7 overall record on the season and are 4-6 in league play. Southwest Baptist is 6-12 overall and 2-7 in league play.

"We struggled a little bit in January but we have won two out of three," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "What we need to do though is get a little streak going. We just need to come out and play our game and play with some intensity."

Central Oklahoma is averaging 67.2 points per game this season. The Bronchos are led individually by Ireon Smith, who averages 11.7 points per game this season. Smith also has a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game.

Micayla Haynes is second on the team in scoring, marginally, averaging 11.6 points per game this season. The junior guard shoots 41.5 percent from the floor on average and 38.9 percent from behind the arc, where she leads the team with 37 made 3-pointers this season.

Shatoya Bryson joins Smith and Haynes in averaging double figures. Also a junior, Bryson averages 10.6 points per game this season and leads the team with 3.3 assists per game, 1.7 steals per game, as well as 40 made free-throws.

Seniors Blake Blessington (8.8), Megan Hartness (6.3), and Madison Lee (5.2) are the next three leading scorers for the Bronchos. The trio has season-highs of 17, 16, & 18 respectively, giving UCO an extra double-figure scoring option in the lineup.

Southwest Baptist is 6-12 on the season, but like UCO, has won two out of its last three. The Bearcats picked up their only two conference wins of the season two weeks ago over Lindenwood and Lincoln. The Bronchos went 1-1 against those two schools last weekend.

Caylee Richardson leads SBU with 14.4 points per game and has a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. Morgan Henderson averages 11. 5 points per game while Bailey Rezabek and Laura Vierkant both average 10.9 points per game.

SBU as a team averages 75.9 points per game, which ranks second in the MIAA.

Central Oklahoma is 9-8 vs. Southwest Baptist all-time and head coach Guy Hardaker is 6-3. SBU won last season in Bolivar, Mo., the schools' only meeting of 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