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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Micayla Haynes
80
Winner Central Okla. UCO 1-0,0-0 Mid-Amer
72
Mary MARY 1-3,0-0 NSIC
Winner
Central Okla. UCO
1-0,0-0 Mid-Amer
80
Final
72
Mary MARY
1-3,0-0 NSIC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Okla. UCO 26 17 18 19 80
Mary MARY 12 11 19 30 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Wins Opener

ALVA, Okla. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 season Friday with an 80-72 win against Mary (N.D.) at Northwestern's Percefull Fieldhouse in the MIAA/GAC/NSIC Conference Challenge.
 
Central Oklahoma got standout performances from returning All-MIAA selection Micayla Haynes, and true freshman Jaci Littell as the Bronchos won their fifth consecutive season opener and 14th-year head coach Guy Hardaker won his 250th game at UCO.
 
"I was pleased with the way we started and really the way we played for the first three quarters," Hardaker said. "We may have let up a little in the fourth and we don't want to do that. But we got the win. I'm proud of Micayla for coming out and leading the team and I'm happy for Jaci to be able to score 20 in her first game, that's pretty cool."
 
UCO got off to a hot start in the season-opener. Haynes scored the first 11 points of the game for the Bronchos and did so with variation. The junior made a layup, got a layup plus the foul and made that free-throw, then sank a pair of 3-pointers. UCO led 11-3 after the first four minutes thanks to the spurt by Haynes.
 
Brooke Rayner came off the bench midway through the quarter and kept it going, scoring the next six points. The sophomore point guard gave UCO a 17-6 lead with still over three minutes to go in the opening frame.
 
UCO built a 26-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Bronchos kept the pace in the second 10 minutes.
 
Then Littell got in the mix. She knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:08 to play in the second quarter to make it 34-17, UCO. The true freshman, who started the game for the Bronchos at the three spot, forced a Mary timeout with the shot. Out of the timeout, Littell knocked down another 3-pointer to make it 37-17. Then did it again on the next possession to push the lead to 40-17 with 5:01 to play in the first half.
 
UCO finally cooled down, scoring just three more points before the half, but still held a commanding 43-23 lead at the break.
 
The Bronchos shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) overall in the first half, and hit over 64 percent (9-for-14) of its shots from outside.
 
Central started the third quarter with a bit of trouble. It took the Bronchos 2:50 to make their first basket. Kelsey Johnson did so with a smooth turnaround jumper on the baseline. But Johnson fouled on the other end and had to sit virtually the rest of the quarter with three fouls. Shatoya Bryson already got her third foul as well. UCO had five team fouls in less than three minutes of play in the third quarter.
 
But the Bronchos responded with a patient resiliency. Littell and Kaci Richardson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back over 20 points. UCO led by as many as 23 points in the quarter. Rayner hit a jump shot to make it 59-36 with 3:27 to play. Haynes made a layup with 1:27 to go to make it 61-38.
 
Mary wasn't going away though. A 13-0 run to end the third and start the fourth cut the lead all the way down to 61-51. Littell ended the run and Broncho scoring drought with a 3-pointer with 7:13 to go in the fourth quarter. That made it 64-51.
 
Mary kept pushing, cutting the lead to eight with four and half minutes to play, 66-58. But Central wasn't going to let it slip away.
 
McKenna Pulley hit back-to-back jump shots from the free-throw line to settle the offense and put Central back in the driver seat. UCO made all four of its free-throw attempts in the final minute to finish off the win.
 
Central Oklahoma got a huge NCAA debut from Littell, who finished with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting. She was 5-for-8 from behind the arc. The Stillwater, Okla. native also had a team-high eight rebounds and two assists.
 
Haynes led the Bronchos in scoring Friday. The Guthrie, Okla. native had 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting. She hit a pair of 3-pointers and all three of her free-throws. She added four assists and three rebounds.
 
Rayner added 14 points off the bench. Johnson had seven points and six rebounds. Pulley had seven points as well to go with a team-high five assists. Richardson scored six, hitting 2 of 3 from behind the arc. She added six rebounds.
 
Central Oklahoma will be back in action in Alva on Saturday. The Bronchos play host Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5 p.m.
 
 
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