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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Ireon Smith
57
Northeastern St. NSU 6-21, 3-15 MIAA
70
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 17-11, 8-10 MIAA
Northeastern St. NSU
6-21, 3-15 MIAA
57
Final
70
Central Oklahoma UCO
17-11, 8-10 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Northeastern St. NSU 10 12 17 18 57
Central Oklahoma UCO 7 23 22 18 70

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Powers Past NSU

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team dispatched Northeastern State 70-57 Tuesday night in a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association matchup at Hamilton Field House.
 
The Bronchos improved to 17-11 on the season and are now 8-10 in league play. UCO swept the season series against its old foe for the third straight season and have won six consecutive in the series dating back to 2016.
 
"We did not start out very good at all," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "We didn't make a single shot in the first quarter and that's very strange, but we just kept fighting and kept doing what we needed to."
 
UCO was 0-for-11 in the first quarter and went 0-for-4 from behind the arc. A 7-for-10 effort from the free-throw line left UCO in only a 10-7 deficit. Megan Hartness (4-for-4), Ireon Smith (2-for-4), and Shatoya Bryson (1-for-2) all put points on the board for the Bronchos in the first 10 minutes.
 
But that didn't deter UCO.
 
Bryson hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter to tie the game 10-10. Then the junior guard hit a pair of free-throws to put UCO up two. Micayla Haynes countered an NSU layup and free-throw combo with a layup of her own to put the Bronchos up by one, and then hit a 3-pointer of her own to put the Bronchos up 17-15 with 6:43 to play. Northeastern never led again.
 
Central Oklahoma shot 57 percent in the second quarter, knocking down 8 of 14 shots and 3 of 6 threes. The Bronchos also continued to earn free-throws and made 4 of 5 at the line in the second 10 minutes.
 
The Bronchos made 6 of 12 shots in the third quarter, taking their 8-point halftime lead to a 13-point lead thanks to Hartness going coast-to-coast in the final seconds and knocking down a buzzer-beater jumper.
 
UCO cruised to its second consecutive win in the fourth quarter, keeping a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
Smith led UCO on Tuesday. The junior center scored 21 points off the bench and also had a game-high 14 rebounds. Haynes scored 17 points and Bryson had 16. The junior guard duo combined to knock down five 3-pointers and also combined to make 10 free-throws. UCO hit 20 free-throws in the game, making 20 of 25 from the line.
 
Hartness also scored nine off the bench. The Bronchos had 37 bench points Tuesday night.
 
Central Oklahoma only has one game left in the 2018-19 regular season. The Bronchos will play Emporia State on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Hamilton Field House before heading to Kansas City for the MIAA Postseason Tournament on March 5.
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