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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Kelsey Johnson
65
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 4-2,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
63
Cameron Camer 4-2,0-0 Lone Star
Winner
Central Okla. CentOK
4-2,0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
65
Final
63
Cameron Camer
4-2,0-0 Lone Star
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Okla. CentOK 17 12 20 16 65
Cameron Camer 15 18 17 13 63

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Kelsey Johnson At The Buzzer!

LAWTON, Okla. – With 1.7 seconds left on the clock, Central had one final shot to break a tie game at Cameron Tuesday night. And that they did.
 
Jaci Littell inbounded a perfect lob pass to Kelsey Johnson, who took one dribble before sinking her patented turnaround fadeaway to give Central Oklahoma a 65-63 win over the Aggies.
 
Central Oklahoma trailed by one entering the fourth quarter and had a marginal, three-point lead on two different occasions late, but the Bronchos trailed 63-62 after an and-1 layup with 42 seconds to go.
 
Aliyah Llanusa made one of two free-throws to tie the game, but UCO still needed a stop down the stretch.
 
A pesky defense held Cameron to a poor shot as time almost expired. Then Llanusa skied for a rebound and called timeout with 1.7 seconds to play.
 
That's when UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker drew up the play.
 
"Kelsey was great tonight and we thought she gave us our best chance," Hardaker said. "That was a great pass from Jaci and a great finish by Kelsey."
 
Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points to go with a game and season-high 16 rebounds. She was 9-for-14 from the floor and hit three free-throws.
 
Alayzha Knapp and Littell both scored 12 points in the effort.
 
Central Oklahoma went back and forth with Cameron in the early half of the first quarter before using a late run to take the lead. The Bronchos trailed 16-11 at the first-quarter media timeout, which didn't come until 2:11 to play in the opening frame. But the officials wiped a point off the board for Cameron – a 3-point basket was ruled a two – and then Johnson and Avery Allen posted a 6-0 run over the last two minutes to give the Bronchos a 17-15 lead at the first break.
 
Following the 6-0 run to end the first quarter, Cameron opened the second frame on an 11-0 run to break the game open. Ginger Reece hit a pair of free-throws with six minutes to play till halftime to give the Bronchos their first points of the second quarter.
 
UCO responded though. Johnson hit two free-throws of her own before the second quarter media timeout, then made a layup out of the break. Central outscored Cameron 8-4 down the stretch, including a big 3-pointer from Clary Donica with less than a minute to play, to put the Bronchos within striking distance at halftime. UCO trailed 33-29 at the break.
 
Central came out of halftime with a flurry. Knapp had a personal 5-0 run to start the half, giving the Bronchos a one-point lead. UCO outscored Cameron 13-6 before the third quarter media timeout, taking a 42-39 lead. The Bronchos extended their lead up to as many as seven, 49-42, with a personal 9-2 run by Littell. Cameron though responded with an 8-0 run to end the quarter and took a 50-49 lead into the final 10 minutes.
 
The personal runs continued in the fourth quarter. Although the Bronchos started off cold, Johnson scored six straight in the middle of the quarter to give UCO a 57-54 lead with just over four minutes to play. Littell added a pair of late free-throws to put Central up 62-59 before Cameron took a brief lead before the wild ending.
 
Central Oklahoma shot just 37.5 percent from the floor Tuesday night. The Bronchos hit five 3-pointers and added 18 free-throws.
 
Central Oklahoma completed its fourth straight road game Tuesday night. The Bronchos will take a nine-day break in the action before opening conference play in December. UCO has two more road games in store, at Missouri Southern and at Pittsburg State, before returning to Hamilton Field House Dec. 9.
 
 
 
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