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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Kelsey Johnson
50
Pittsburg St. PittSt 0-1,0-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
80
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 2-0,2-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Pittsburg St. PittSt
0-1,0-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
50
Final
80
Central Okla. CentOK
2-0,2-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Pittsburg St. PittSt 10 17 10 13 50
Central Okla. CentOK 26 14 27 13 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Kelsey Johnson Leads UCO In Blowout Victory

Senior Forward Posted Second Double-Double In As Many Games

EDMOND – Kelsey Johnson continued her dominating play Saturday afternoon in leading the University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team to an 80-50 romp over Pittsburg State. The victory for the Bronchos is the largest ever against their MIAA foe.
 
Johnson scored 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Central (2-0). Saturday's performance followed a 30-point, 11-rebound game on Thursday night. Johnson finished 10 of 20 from the floor and hit 6 of 7 free-throws. Of her 13 rebounds, four came on the offensive end. She added an assist and a steal.
 
"Kelsey is playing the best we've ever seen her play," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "She's doing a great job getting position. She's doing a great job finding her shot. And she's being aggressive. All that helps everyone else too. It was good to see."
 
Central Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead Saturday and never looked back. Avery Allen scored the game's first basket, then Johnson knocked down her first shot. Then Allen again. Then Johnson again. The Bronchos led 8-0 after only 2:43.
 
Pittsburg State finally got on the board at the 7:01 mark in the first quarter. But the Bronchos added another 8-0 right after over an even shorter time – 1:20. That included a 3-pointer from Jaci Littell, two more baskets for Johnson, with the second coming on a layup where she was fouled. She hit the free-throw too and it was 16-2, UCO.
 
Central would lead by as many as 18 in the first quarter, 26-8, and led 26-10 after the first 10 minutes was up. Johnson had 11 points and four rebounds after one quarter of play.
 
In the second, Central held firm. Pittsburg State cut the lead to nine points on two different occasions, but UCO kept applying the pressure. UCO dominated the first half even though it only hit 1 of 7 threes and only shot three free-throws and only forced seven PSU turnovers. It simply outplayed Pitt. Johnson scored six more and ended the first half with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
 
After halftime, Central wasn't content with just holding firm. The Bronchos would outscore Pittsburg State 27-10 in the third quarter, building a 30-point lead. That came on the end of a 9-0 run to end the quarter. Kaci Richardson hit a pair of free-throws to start that run, then knocked down a 3-pointer, then after Taylor Dement scored on an easy layup, Richardson scored again to put UCO up 67-37 with 20 seconds to play in the third quarter.
 
Hardaker utilized his bench in most of the fourth quarter, with the young Broncho squad earning valuable minutes in a conference game.
 
The teams both scored 13 points apiece in the final 10 minutes as Central arrived at an 80-50 victory.
 
Hardaker saw 12 of 15 players score on Saturday. Littell was the second-leading scorer for the Bronchos with 10 points. She went 3-for-7 from the floor, knocking down two 3-pointers and two free-throws.
 
Richardson added eight. Allen, Dement, and Brooke Rayner each scored six. Maddie Harelson and Caley Young put up four. Karly Wadsworth and Megan McClendon put up three. And Tayler Factor and Aliyah Llanusa both scored two.
 
Central Oklahoma ended the game shooting 43.2 percent overall, hitting 32 of 74 shots. The Bronchos were 5-for-17 from behind the arc and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line. UCO forced 20 Pitt State turnovers with Harelson's career-high four steals leading the way on defense.
 
UCO is off next week for Thanksgiving. The Bronchos will play on the road in MIAA action the following weekend. Central visits Washburn on Thursday, Dec. 3 and Emporia State on Saturday, Dec. 5.
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