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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Karly Wadsworth
78
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 3-1,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
58
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 1-1,0-0 Lone Star
Winner
Central Okla. CentOK
3-1,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
78
Final
58
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS
1-1,0-0 Lone Star
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Okla. CentOK 20 22 19 17 78
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 11 20 17 10 58

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Handle Fort Smith

FORT SMITH, Ark. – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team led all but 41 seconds in its 78-58 rout of Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday night.
 
The Bronchos are 3-1 on the young season after the victory.
 
"It was good to see the girls respond after the way we played on Tuesday," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "We needed to put that game behind us and we did. We played well today. We need to play like this more consistently."
 
Alayzha Knapp led all scorers with 18 points. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native hit 7 of 10 shots and went 4-for-7 from the free-throw line. She also add five rebounds, one assist, and one block, all in just 21 minutes of play.
 
Kelsey Johnson added 15 points to go with nine rebounds. She was 5-for-7 from the floor, hit her only 3-pointer, and hit all four of her free-throw attempts.
 
Aliyah Llanusa gave Central a third double-digit scorer. The Choctaw, Oklahoma native scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including one 3-pointer, and three free-throws. She also had three rebounds and two steals.
 
Central Oklahoma shot 52.8 percent from the floor Thursday night. The Bronchos went 4-for-13 from behind the arc and added 18 free-throws on 24 attempts.
 
Johnson won the opening tip and 11 seconds later, put Central in front with a 3-pointer. Brooke Rayner had the assist on the play, then got a steal on the defensive end and Llanusa's layup made it 5-0, UCO.
 
Central led by 10 with four minutes to play in the opening quarter. Avery Allen swiped a ball and Llanusa got another fastbreak layup to give UCO a 16-6 lead.
 
Allen got another steal and Karly Wadsworth hit two free-throws to put Central up 20-11 and that's how the first quarter ended.
 
Although the Broncho lead jumped to 11 points early in the second quarter, UAFS outscored the Bronchos 16-4 over the next 3:58 to take its only lead of the game, 29-28.
 
But that lead only last 30 seconds. Knapp drew a foul and knocked down both free-throws to put Central up 30-29 and the Bronchos never looked back.
 
UCO countered Fort Smith's best run with a 14-2 run of its own, ending with Johnson hitting a turnaround jumper with 26 seconds left in the second quarter. Her bucket made it 42-31 and that's how it went to halftime.
 
The game was pretty even in the third quarter, with Central outscoring Fort Smith 19-17. The Bronchos grew their lead to as much as 14 points in the quarter as UCO imposed its will.
 
Hardaker had an opportunity to play all 14 players Thursday night thanks to a strong finish by the Bronchos. UCO led by as many as 25 points with two minutes to play in the game before settling on the 78-58 final score.
 
Wadsworth added eight points to the Central total, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to go with her two free-throws. Ginger Reece scored seven points, Caley Young scored four points as did Rayner. Rory Geer scored three, Clary Donica added two, as did Allen. Jaci Littell scored one point.
 
Central Oklahoma continues a six-game road trip Saturday. The third game of the trip and second in Arkansas is scheduled for Saturday at Harding at 6 p.m. UCO will also play at Cameron, Missouri Southern, and Pittsburg State before finally playing at Hamilton Field House again Dec. 9.
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