by Chris Brannick
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Karly Wadsworth hit halftime buzzer beaters in each of the last two games, but her 3-pointer as time expired in the fourth quarter Thursday night hit the back iron and Central Oklahoma lost 60-59 at Northeastern State.
UCO drops to 5-8 overall on the season with the loss and the Bronchos are now 2-7 in league play.
“We let up in the fourth quarter and that’s disappointing,” UCO head women’s coach Emma Andrews said. “We had a lead late and we should have been able to hang on and win. We just need to learn from this and move on from it.”
Central Oklahoma 57-49 with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter when Alayzha Knapp made a bucket to give UCO an eight-point lead, its biggest of the game. But an 11-2 run by the host Riverhawks down the stretch snapped a 12-game winning streak Central Oklahoma had in the series.
Knapp led the Bronchos with 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the game. Aspen Williston also scored 15 points to go with three rebounds and two blocks. Wadsworth finished with 13 points off the bench and had three assists and three steals. She also hit three 3-pointers in the game.
UCO built an early lead in the game, going ahead 9-2 early in the first quarter, however, NSU responded with a late run to take a 14-13 lead by the end of the first quarter. UCO still trailed, 19-16, with just over eight minutes left in the first half, but a layup from Wadsworth and a 3-pointer from Knapp gave UCO a 21-19 lead and the Bronchos never trailed again – until the fourth quarter.
UCO used a late run in the second quarter to take a 32-27 halftime lead. Northeastern did outscore the Bronchos, 15-13, in the third quarter, but UCO still took a 45-42 lead into the final quarter.
Central Oklahoma outscored NSU 12-7 before the late rally by the hosts.
Central Oklahoma finished the game shooting 38.9 percent overall and 33.3 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Bronchos hit 8 of 24 shots from deep and made 9 of 11 free-throws in the game.
