by Chris Brannick
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A devastating burst from the Bronchos to start the third quarter put UCO in control of its MIAA Basketball Championship first round game against Emporia State Wednesday night at Municipal Auditorium.
Central Oklahoma 71, Emporia State 57.
“I’m really proud of the team for the way they approached the game tonight,” first-year head women’s coach Emma Andrews said. “We talked about being 0-0 today. Everyone is 0-0. And they came out and played really well and found a way to win. And they did it together. It was good to see.”
Central Oklahoma led 17-13 after the first quarter and 37-30 at halftime. UCO seemed in control, but hadn’t yet pulled away from the Lady Hornets. Then a 14-0 run to start the third quarter blew it open.
UCO got four points each from Aspen Williston, Brooke Rayner, and Alayzha Knapp while Aliyah Llanusa added two. The Bronchos were 5-for-11 from the floor, but the defense was key. Emporia was 0-for-5 in the first 5:37 of the third quarter and had five turnovers during that span.
UCO led 51-30 and never looked back.
Karly Wadsworth led the Bronchos with 19 points. The third-year sophomore hit a career-high five 3-pointers. Her 15 attempts from behind the 3-point line tied a UCO single game record. Wadsworth was 6-for-16 overall, 2-for-4 from the free-throw line, and also had two assists and one steal.
Rayner finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. She went 3-for-11 from the floor and 2-for-8 from behind the 3-point line, but was 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Williston also had double figures, scoring a dozen points on 5 of 12 shooting. She was also 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. But it was her rebounding that was key. Williston pulled down 17 rebounds on Wednesday night – the eighth most in a single game in MIAA Basketball Championship history. She had seven offensive rebounds and 10 on the defensive end. Williston also had two assists and two blocked shots.
Knapp scored eight points and added six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Llanusa finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists.
Tayler Factor (five), Kassie Boorer (four), and Eliana Bravington (two) also scored for UCO.
The Bronchos shot 34.3 percent from the floor, making 23 of 67 shots on Wednesday night. UCO was 8-for-31 from the behind the 3-point line and 17-for-19 from the free-throw line.
Defensively, Central held Emporia State to 33.3 percent overall, 17.6 percent from deep, and UCO also forced 19 turnovers in the game.
The Bronchos advance to the MIAA Basketball Championship quarterfinals for the ninth time in 10 trips to the postseason tournament. UCO will play Central Missouri, who earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament with a 19-3 record in conference play. UCM is 23-3 overall. The two schools met in the first MIAA game of the season, in Warrensburg, Missouri on December 1. UCO lost 83-65 in the game.
