Women's Basketball 1/17/2024 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Central Oklahoma Visits Northwest Missouri Thursday

Bronchos Looking For Back-to-Back Wins

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Central Oklahoma begins a three-game road trip Thursday night at Northwest Missouri in an MIAA affair.

UCO, 3-13 on the season and 2-8 in the MIAA, takes on the Bearcats, 12-3, 6-3, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. inside Bearcat Arena. Central Oklahoma will also visit Missouri Western on Saturday afternoon. The Bronchos play at Newman next Saturday to wrap up the road trip.

"We're trying to build momentum after getting a win this past weekend," UCO head women's coach Emma Andrews said. "We know what we're capable of and playing at that level for four quarters has gotten us wins. Now we need to be consistent with that."

Central Oklahoma beat Rogers State on Saturday to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Bearcats own a 9-7 advantage in the all-time series against UCO and have won three in a row. Central's last win in the series came in Maryville in 2021.

UCO hits the road averaging 64.2 points per game this season. The Bronchos are shooting 37.5 percent from the floor this season and 27.9 percent from behind the 3-point line with an average of 5.8 makes per game. Central is also shooting 71.7 percent from the free-throw line with an average of 10.6 makes per game from the stripe.

Reagan Fox is Central Oklahoma's leading scorer after 16 games this season. The sophomore from Blanchard and Abilene Christian transfer is averaging 9.8 points per game. She is shooting 35.9 percent overall and 39.4 percent from behind the arc. Fox has 26 made 3-pointers, the second-most on the team. Fox is also 38-for-41 from the free-throw line this season and her 92.7 percent rate ranks No. 1 in the MIAA. Fox adds 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

Karly Wadsworth is averaging 8.4 points per game this season and has a team-high 28 made 3-pointers, seventh-most in the MIAA. The fourth-year junior from Oologah is shooting 38.2 percent overall and 32.6 percent from behind the 3-point line. Wadsworth adds 1.6 steals per game, which ranks 13th in the MIAA.

Alena Wilson, a junior from Dallas and Cameron transfer, is averaging 7.4 points per game and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game. The forward leads the team with 51 made field goals and is shooting 42.9 percent from the floor. Wilson is also just under one block and one steal per game.

Natalie Stice, LaKysia Johnson, and Aliyah Llanusa all average six points per game. Stice is at 6.6 points, Johnson is at 6.3, and Llanusa averages 6.1 points per game.

Stice shoots 33.6 percent from the floor and is third on the team with 17 made 3-pointers. The Tahoka, Texas native recently crossed the 1,000-point mark for her career, which spans four seasons since 2018 at Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, and UCO.

Johnson is the fifth Broncho with 40 makes this season. She shoots 48.2 percent from the floor. Johnson, a junior from Altus and Northern Oklahoma transfer, is only 1-for-4 from behind the arc but is 18-for-30 from the free-throw line. She is just under one steal per game too.

Llanusa, a fifth-year senior from Choctaw, is the team's second-leading rebounder at 5.2 boards per game. She has the most offensive rebounds on the team (33) and is almost even with defensive rebounds (40).

Caley Young, also a fourth-year junior like Wadsworth, and a Jones native, is averaging 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Young shoots 40.6 percent, having gone 41-for-101 on the year. She is averaging 1.1 steals per game.

Talia Pogi (3.4) and Gracee Miller (3.3) chip in on the scoring totals for the Bronchos. Lexi Foreman, Tayler Factor and Alexis Martin all add depth to the lineup for Central.

Northwest Missouri welcomes the Bronchos have a resurgent year. The Bearcats started the year 8-0 with wins over league-leaders Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Aside from a loss to nationally-ranked Fort Hays State, Northwest's only other loss came in an upset at home from Washburn.

Northwest is averaging 68.5 points per game this season and the Bearcats allow 61.3 from the opposition. NWMSU shoots 40.2 percent overall, 31.7 percent from behind the 3-point line with an average of 6.4 makes per game, and 75.8 percent from the free-throw line with an average of 13.4 makes per game.

Molly Hartnett (12.5) and Caely Keston (11.4) lead the team in scoring. Kelsey Fields, who averages 8.1 points per game, leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 boards per game.

Central Oklahoma will take on Northwest Missouri Thursday night, then Missouri Western Saturday afternoon. The Bronchos visit Newman next Saturday in the only game of the week for UCO. Central returns home for two games Feb. 1 and 3 at Hamilton Field House.

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Players Mentioned

#20 Tayler Factor: F; 5' 9"; Senior

#31 Lexi Foreman: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#22 Aliyah Llanusa: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#21 Karly Wadsworth: G; 5' 8"; Junior

#42 Caley Young: F; 5' 11"; Junior

#3 LaKysia Johnson: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#4 Natalie Stice: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#5 Reagan Fox: F; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#13 Gracee Miller: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

#23 Talia Pogi: F; 5' 9"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#20 Tayler Factor
: 5' 9"; Senior
: F

#31 Lexi Foreman
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#22 Aliyah Llanusa
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#21 Karly Wadsworth
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

#42 Caley Young
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

#3 LaKysia Johnson
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#4 Natalie Stice
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#5 Reagan Fox
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#13 Gracee Miller
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

#23 Talia Pogi
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: F