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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Brooke Rayner
53
Emporia St. ESU 15-14,10-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
88
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 17-12,12-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Emporia St. ESU
15-14,10-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
53
Final
88
Central Okla. CentOK
17-12,12-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Emporia St. ESU 14 5 19 15 53
Central Okla. CentOK 23 23 28 14 88

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Destroys Emporia In Postseason Opener

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A stellar start never waivered for Central Oklahoma Wednesday as the Bronchos ran their way to a rout of Emporia State, 88-53, in the first round of the 2022 MIAA Basketball Championship presented by Citizen's Bank & Trust.
 
UCO, the No. 7 seed in the postseason tournament, will face No. 2 Fort Hays State Thursday at 2:15 p.m. in the championship quarterfinals.
 
"We played really well today," UCO head women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker said. "I'm proud of our progress. We had a lot of different people step up today, really everyone, and that was the difference for us."
 
Central Oklahoma won the opening tip and Aliyah Llanusa hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game. The Bronchos never trailed and the game was never tied. Brooke Rayner hit a 3-pointer to make it 6-0. After Emporia got on the scoreboard to make it 6-2, the Bronchos went on a 12-2 run over the next two minutes to build a 16-2 lead.
 
Central built a 15-point lead in the first quarter and led 23-14 at the first break.
 
Central cranked up the intensity in the second quarter, outscoring Emporia 23-5 thanks to a suffocating defense and a hot hand on offense that wasn't going away.
 
The Bronchos held Emporia to 0-for-14 shooting in the second quarter, including 0-for-8 on 3-point attempts.
 
UCO soon led by 27 points at halftime, 46-19.
 
The Bronchos kept it up in the third quarter, growing the lead even more. Central eventually held its biggest lead of the game, 40 points. Rayner's 3-pointer with 2:44 to play gave UCO a 69-29 lead.
 
Central Oklahoma shot 53.8 percent for the game, hitting 35 of 65 shots. The Bronchos made 10 of 22 shots from behind the 3-point line and 8 of 9 free-throw attempts.
 
Kelsey Johnson led UCO with 25 points. She went 12-for-18 from the floor and 1-for-1 from the free-throw line. Johnson also had eight rebounds and two assists.
 
Rayner scored 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting, hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts and her only free-throw attempt.
 
Ginger Reece scored 14 points off the bench, part of Central's 27 bench points. Llanusa scored 10 points and had a game-high nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
 
Alayzha Knapp posted seven points, six boards and four assists. She was 2-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
 
Jaci Littell hit a pair of 3-pointers off the bench and finished with six points. Karly Wadsworth also hit one 3-pointer. Clary Donica and Taylor Dement scored two each to round out Central's 27 bench points.
 
Central Oklahoma improved to 8-8 all-time in the MIAA Basketball Championships. UCO has made each of the last nine postseason conference tournaments. The Bronchos were 0-4 against Emporia in the tournament until Wednesday. The 88 points scored against ESU are also the most Central has scored in Municipal Auditorium.
 
 
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