EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma women's basketball team makes its long-awaited return to Hamilton Field House Thursday night to take on Washburn. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Central Oklahoma, which is 5-3 this season and 1-1 in the MIAA, opened the 2021-22 season with back-to-back home games before embarking on a six-game road trip. UCO is 2-0 at Hamilton this season. The Bronchos have won nine straight at home dating back to last January.
Washburn comes to Edmond with a 1-6 overall record and an 0-2 mark in league play. The Ichabods of Topeka, Kansas beat Oklahoma Baptist in overtime in the second game of the year but are now trying to stop a five-game losing streak as they enter Hamilton Field House.
Central Oklahoma split the season series with Washburn last year. The home team won both contests. The Bronchos trail in the all-time series 12-9.
Leading UCO into the weekend is senior forward
Kelsey Johnson. The Washington, Oklahoma native leads the Bronchos in several categories. She averages 19.8 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game. Johnson ranks third in the MIAA in both categories. She's posted six double-doubles in eight games this season, including one in each of the last four outings.
She also has a team-high 229 minutes played this year and leads the team in field goals made (60), field goals attempted (111), free-throws made (34), free-throws attempted (44), offensive, defensive and total rebounds (30-60-90), and blocked shots (eight).
Alayzha Knapp is also averaging double figures for Central this season. A sophomore from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Knapp is averaging 10 points per game, having scored an even 80 points in eight games. She had a season-high 18 points twice, scoring that mark at home against Mary and on the road against Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Knapp, who shoots a team-best 56.9 percent from the floor, is also averaging 4.1 rebounds per game through eight games played. That mark is third on the team. She is also third on the team with 14 made free-throws.
Brooke Rayner and
Karly Wadsworth are both averaging eight points per game this season. Rayner, a junior from Stillwater, Oklahoma, is averaging 8.4 points per game and is among the team leaders in several other categories. She shoots 40.3 percent overall, has six made 3-pointers, is a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line through eight games played. Rayner also has 26 assists, the second-most on the squad, and 16 steals, the most on the squad. Rayner's 2.0 steals per game average ranks fifth in the MIAA.
Wadsworth is averaging 8.1 points per game. A second-year freshman from Oologah, Oklahoma, she has a team-high 17 made 3-pointers this season, is shooting 45.9 percent from behind the arc, and is averaging just over two makes from outside per contest. Those marks are among the best in the league.
Wadsworth ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage, is tied for fourth in made 3-pointers, and is sixth in the MIAA in average makes per game from deep.
Aliyah Llanusa, who spearheads the Broncho defense, has improved her contributions on the offensive end this season. A third-year sophomore, Llanusa is averaging 6.8 points per game and is second on the team with 17 made free-throws. She's third with 20 free-throw attempts. Llanusa also has 15 steals in eight games, marginally under two per game. Her 1.9 steals per game average ranks sixth in the MIAA.
Caley Young (5.5),
Clary Donica (5.1) and
Jaci Littell (5.1) all chip in on the scoring load for the Bronchos.
Avery Allen makes it all go too. The third-year point guard from Owasso, Oklahoma has 31 assists in eight games, an average of 3.9 per game. Both marks rank fifth in the MIAA.
Central Oklahoma is scheduled to play another home game Saturday. The Bronchos host Emporia State at 1:30 p.m. inside Hamilton Field House. UCO will hit the road again after that, playing at No. 1 Fort Hays State and at No. 17 Nebraska Kearney Dec. 17 & 19 respectively.
