by Chris Brannick
TOPEKA, Kan. – Brooke Rayner had a career performance as she eclipsed multiple milestons and Aspen Williston joined the historic party as Central Oklahoma beat Washburn 72-62 in an MIAA game Saturday afternoon.
Rayner scored a career-high 32 points and also had six steals. With her first basket of the game, a fastbreak layup with 4:57 to play in the first quarter, Rayner scored her 1,000th career point. She was also fouled on the play and after the media timeout, she sank the free-throw to move to 1,001 points. She didn’t stop there, scoring 12 in the opening quarter to set the tone for the Bronchos.
But Williston did the same. She scored the first four points of the game to give UCO a 4-0 lead. The Bronchos never trailed in the game. And Williston finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots. She recorded just the third triple double in school history and her 10 blocks are also a school record for one game.
“They played together today,” UCO head women’s coach Emma Andrews said. “I’m happy for both of the girls for their historic achievements, but I’m really happy for everyone on the team for getting the win today. We needed that and we need to keep playing like that as we have our last few games before the tournament.”
Central Oklahoma improved to 8-14 overall on the season with the win and the Bronchos are now 5-13 in the MIAA. UCO has four games left in the regular season, including three against opponents below them in the league standings. The Bronchos are currently in 10th place in the MIAA, which is the final team in the conference tournament.
Back to Saturday.
Rayner became the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points, and with a new career high 32 in the game, moved up to ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list. She hit 12 of 16 shots on Saturday afternoon, including 2 of 4 from behind the 3-point line. She also went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Rayner entered the game with 195 career steals, which was already third on Central’s all-time list. She had five in the first half to hit the 200 mark, then added one more in the second half to get to 201. Rayner also had four rebounds and two assists in 39 minutes of action.
Williston scored the first four points but didn’t score again in the first quarter. She also had three rebounds and one block after the first 10 minutes of play. By halftime, she had 10 points, six blocks and five rebounds. After three quarters of play, it was 14 points, 10 blocks and seven rebounds. She gathered three more rebounds in the fourth quarter to get the triple double.
Williston was 6-for-11 from the field Saturday, 1-for-2 from behind the 3-point line, and 1-for-3 from the free-throw line. She also had three steals before fouling out after 38 minutes of play.
UCO also got a double-digit performance from Aliyah Llanusa, who scored 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting. She went 7-for-10 from the free-throw line and had four rebounds and three assists.
