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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Jerney Bennett
85
Winner Mo. Southern St. MSSU 12-4,6-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
81
Central Okla. CentOK 7-9,2-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Mo. Southern St. MSSU
12-4,6-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
85
Final
81
Central Okla. CentOK
7-9,2-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 OT 2 F
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 15 22 19 9 8 12 85
Central Okla. CentOK 21 14 11 19 8 8 81

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Run Out of Steam In Double OT Thriller

Central Oklahoma Loses 85-81 To Missouri Southern Wednesday In Edmond

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma ran out of steam and lost a double-overtime thriller Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House, 85-81, to Missouri Southern.
 
The Bronchos are 7-9 on the season following the loss and 2-5 in the MIAA. UCO returns Saturday afternoon to play No. 16 Pittsburg State at 3:30 p.m.
 
"We had our chances but we couldn't get it done," UCO head women's basketball coach Hannah Moeller said. "Proud of the fight the team showed. We were fortunate to have a chance to win but credit to Missouri Southern for finding a way tonight."
 
Central Oklahoma began the fourth quarter trailing 56-46 but went on a 14-1 run to take a three-point lead with 3:20 remaining. Nykaiya Dillard's layup and the fould gave UCO the 60-57 advantage.
 
Southern tied the game again at 60 and again at 65 with 27 remaining. The Bronchos held for the last shot but Dillard was blocked on her attempt with four seconds remaining and the teams went to the first overtime tied 65-65.
 
Both teams made just one field goal in the first extra period. The Bronchos were 1-for-5 from the floor, 0-for-2 from 3-point range but went 6-6 from the free-throw line. MSSU was 1-for-6 from the floor, 0-for-1 from deep, and 6-for-8 at the line. The result was a 73-73 tie and a second overtime.
 
Missouri Southern got an early advantage in overtime with a 3-pointer, 78-75, and didn't trail again. Central Oklahoma had three chances to tie the game with a 3-pointer, once trailing 82-79, and twice trailing 84-81, but couldn't get a shot to go in the final moments.
 
Jerney Bennett led Central Oklahoma with a phenomenal performance Wednesday night. The sophomore scored a career-high 27 points on 11 of 15 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds to go with nine blocked shots. Bennett leads the country in blocks and averaged 4.3 per game entering Wednesday's contest before the dominating performance.
 
Bennett's nine blocks are the second most in a single game in UCO history. She was one shy of the record set by Aspen Williston Feb. 11, 2023, which was also the last triple-double in school history (14 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks). Bennett's 73 blocks this season rank third most in school history. Jesheon Cooper set a record with 100 blocks in 2016-17 and also has the second most with 83 blocks in 2017-18.
 
Dillard also put up 19 points on Wednesday night. She added three rebounds and three assists to go with one steal. Bobbie Fouquet, who tied Bennett with a game-high 12 rebounds, scored nine points. Talia Pogi also had nine, Peyton Walker scored eight, Kaitlyn McCarn added seven, and Olivia Quapaw scored two.
 
Central Oklahoma used a 7-0 run in the opening minutes of the game to gain control and held firm to a 21-15 lead after the first quarter. Missouri Southern stormed back to take the lead early in the second quarter and there were nine total lead changes before halftime when MSSU took a 37-35 advantage into the break.
 
Southern jumped out to a big lead in the third quarter but the Bronchos then stormed back in the fourth.
 
UCO hosts Pittsburg State on Saturday afternoon to wrap up a four-game homestand. The Bronchos will travel to Nebraska Kearney and No. 6 Fort Hays State next week and return home to play Newman and Emporia State on the final weekend in January.
 
 
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