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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Kelsey Johnson
Kelsey Johnson
62
Mary UMARY 2-3,0-0 NSIC
66
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 2-0,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Mary UMARY
2-3,0-0 NSIC
62
Final
66
Central Okla. CentOK
2-0,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Mary UMARY 17 19 11 15 62
Central Okla. CentOK 22 12 14 18 66

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Bronchos Escape Mary

EDMOND (Nov. 13) – Central Oklahoma's inside tandem of Kelsey Johnson and Alayzha Knapp combined for 38 points -- including four in the final 28 seconds -- to catapult the Bronchos to a thrilling 66-62 victory over Mary Saturday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
Knapp broke a 62-all tie on a layup in traffic with 28 seconds left and Johnson drained two free throws with two seconds remaining to clinch the win as UCO finished off a perfect 2-0 season-opening weekend in the Central Region Classic.
 
The 6-foot-3 Johnson finished with a game-high 20 points while adding seven rebounds, while the 6-2 Knapp had 18 points and four boards.
 
"It was a struggle, but somehow we found a way," head coach Guy Hardaker said. "We didn't shoot the ball well at all and really struggled getting into any sort of offensive rhythm, but our defense bailed us out."
 
The Bronchos shot just 37.1 percent (26-of-70) from the field, including a mere 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from beyond the arc. Johnson was the only player to make a trey, hitting two straight in opening minutes.
 
Caley Young chipped in nine points and six rebounds for UCO, while Knapp, Aliyah Llanusa and Brooke Rayner had three steals apiece. Avery Allen dished out five assists.
 
Central trailed 36-34 at halftime and was down six (44-38) midway through the third quarter before going on a 10-3 run to grab the lead entering the final period. Young scored five points in that spurt and Rayner's driving layup with 20 seconds left gave the Bronchos a 48-47 advantage
 
The Marauders led 50-49 early in the fourth quarter when Rayner made a fast-break layup to ignite an 8-2 run that put UCO on top by five. Johnson had a pair of layups and Knapp another in that spurt that made it 57-52 with 4:55 remaining.
 
It was a seven-point cushion at 60-53 on Ginger Reece's conventional three-point play at the 3:31 mark, but Mary answered with a 9-2 run to pull even at 62-all with 51 seconds left.
 
Knapp's layup off an Allen feed broke that deadlock at 0:28 and Llanusa rebounded a missed 3-pointer at 0:04 before Johnson was fouled. The senior calmly knocked down both foul shots at 0:02 to seal the deal.
 
UCO returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Bethany to take on Southern Nazarene at 5:30 p.m.
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