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Jaci Littell shoots a 3 -
Kelsey Johnson defends in the post -
Clary Donica puts up a shot -
Taylor Dement shoots a jumper -
Clary Donica defending
Jaden Hobbs looked to the rim and fired the ball from behind the arc, hitting nothing but net.
Her bucket was part of a barrage of deep shots from Fort Hays State as the Tigers defeated the Central Oklahoma women’s basketball team 81-60 at Hamilton Field House on a snowy Tuesday night.
FHSU (3-0) hit 13 3-point shots, with 10 coming in the second half.
UCO (2-3) kept it close in the first half and only trailed 26-24 at the break, but the Tigers ran away with it in the second half.
UCO coach Guy Hardaker said the difference was simply making shots.
“We’re not shooting it very well,” Hardaker said. “It’s making it pretty difficult on us. We’re pretty good on the post, but that’s getting even difficult now that we can’t make a perimeter shot. We’ve got to start making some shots, and some kids have to start stepping up and playing like veterans.”
UCO shot 20-of-59 as a team, and 4-of-19 from 3.
Hobbs, a senior and former Oklahoma State Cowgirl, led the Tigers with 19 points. The guard shot 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. Senior guard Madison Mittie shot 4-of-7 from behind the arc and totaled 14 points.
UCO freshman forward Kelsey Johnson led all scorers with 22 points and collected eight rebounds in the process. No other Broncho scored more than seven points, however, with freshman forward Kaci Richardson and junior guard Brooke Rayner tied with that mark.
Johnson fouled out with 3:45 remaining in the game, ending any hope of a miracle comeback. Despite her good numbers, she said she should have done more to help the team.
“I’m always going to feel like if we don’t win that I didn’t do enough,” Johnson said. “Think that I should have done more and played harder at times. Definitely some more rebounds I could have got, so I definitely don’t feel like I did enough because the team didn’t win.”
The Bronchos turned the ball over 21 times to the Tigers’ 12. FHSU outscored UCO 29-7 off turnovers.
After winning their first two games, the Bronchos have dropped three-straight. Hardaker said Johnson cannot do it alone, and the Bronchos need about three or four players step up offensively.
“We got to find a couple shooters with some confidence,” Hardaker said. “That’ll fix everything. It’s amazing how much better you are defensively when you make a shot. It’s hard to play defense when you miss.”