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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Micayla Haynes
60
Missouri Southern MSSU 14-16
68
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 19-11
Missouri Southern MSSU
14-16
60
Final
68
Central Oklahoma UCO
19-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Missouri Southern MSSU 14 11 16 19 60
Central Oklahoma UCO 12 12 22 22 68

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Beats Missouri Southern In MIAA First Round

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team beat Missouri Southern 68-60 in the first round of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Postseason Tournament Wednesday night at Municipal Auditorium.
 
The Bronchos improved to 19-11 on the season with the win and advance to the tournament quarterfinals to face Central Missouri on Thursday at 8:15 p.m.
 
"We did not play very good tonight, but we got the win and that's all that matters," UCO head basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "We really had to fight for that one and the team responded and I'm really proud of them for that."
 
Central Oklahoma shot 34.4 percent from the field Wednesday night, making 22 of 64 shots. But the Bronchos hit only 2-for-20 from behind the arc, a 10 percent mark. To counter the struggle, Central fought to get to the free-throw line and made 22 of 27 there to help get the win.
 
Micayla Haynes led the way for the Bronchos. After being selected as a Third Team All-MIAA honoree, the junior guard from Guthrie, Okla. scored 21 points on 7 of 17 shooting in her first appearance at Municipal. It's the second-most points scored by a Broncho in Kansas City in the MIAA Tournament. She hit just one 3-pointer on the night, but the shot-clock beating bucket with 2:08 to play put the Bronchos in the driver seat for the victory.
 
UCO also got a big performance from its post duo, Ireon Smith and Kaci Richardson. Richardson pulled down 11 rebounds on the night – five of them on offense – and Smith had 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
Central Oklahoma got off to a solid start in the first quarter, going up 6-0 in the first two minutes and forcing a MSSU timeout. All of that came from Haynes, who made two layups and two free-throws to give the Bronchos the early lead.
 
Missouri Southern responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead before Haynes scored another layup to make it 8-7 with 4:21 to play. Southern pulled ahead with a 3-pointer to make it 11-8, and then again with a 3-pointer to make it 14-12, which held to the end of the first quarter.
 
It took two and half minutes into the second quarter before anyone scored in the second quarter. Shatoya Bryson broke the lid off the basket with a clean, step-back jump shot from the top of the key to tie game 14-14. Madison Lee scored a fastbreak layup plus a free-throw to make it 17-14, UCO, to continue the Broncho run.
 
MSSU responded again with a run though, going up 19-17 after the Lions made their fourth 3-pointer of the first half. Bryson snapped another run with the Bronchos trailing 21-17, hitting UCO's first 3-pointer of the game with 2:50 to play in the quarter to cut the lead to 21-20.
 
Central Oklahoma couldn't pull ahead though and went to the halftime locker room trailing 25-24.
 
In the third quarter, the Bronchos started slow as UCO continued to miss on its shots from outside. Central Oklahoma made only 1 of 10 threes in the first half, and was 0-for-3 in the first three minutes of the second half before Hardaker called a timeout with the Bronchos trailing 33-28.
 
Smith ended the MSSU run with an offensive rebound and putback a minute later to make it 33-30. She cut the lead to two points, 36-34, with another layup with 3:27 to play.
 
A fastbreak layup and-1 from Megan Hartness with 1:53 to play finally cracked the code for the Bronchos and gave UCO a 40-39 lead, its first in nearly two quarters.
 
The Bronchos cranked up the pressure after finally getting the lead and ended the quarter on a 6-2 run, capping it off with a Kaci Richardson layup with one second left in the frame to make it 46-41, UCO.
 
UCO allowed MSSU to tie the game on a pair of occasions in the fourth, but couldn't get ahead of the Bronchos as Central wrapped up its third victory over Southern this season, and its eighth-straight in the all-time series.
 
Blake Blessington broke a 48-48 tie with a jumper, and Richardson sank a free-throw to put UCO up 51-50 with 7:02 to play. The Bronchos never trailed again.
 
Smith made a layup with 4:35 to play to give UCO a four-point lead. Haynes did the same with her late three. A pair of free-throws by Lee with 16 seconds left made it an eight-point game and Smith sealed the win with a pair of free-throws herself with five seconds left.
 
Bryson scored nine points and was responsible for one of two UCO 3-pointers. Richardson and Lee both scored five points. Blessington, McKenna Pulley, and Brooke Rayner each scored four points. Hartness added three.
 
Central Oklahoma will play Central Missouri in the MIAA quarterfinals. It's the sixth-straight trip to the quarters for the Bronchos since joining the league seven years ago.
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