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Kaci Richardson drives to the basket -
Taylor Dement (4) guarded by Sidney Tinner (44) -
Aliyah Llanusa (22) guards Tre'Zure Jobe (3) -
Kelsey Johnson (33) and Emily Weathers (22) await the opening tip -
Brooke Rayner (11) defends a drive from Tre'Zure Jobe (3)
The hosts trailed most of the first half, but they played their best at the end when they needed it most.
The Central Oklahoma women’s basketball team held its biggest lead in the fourth quarter Thursday night as it defeated Emporia State 77-70 at Hamilton Field House.
UCO (8-4) took the lead when senior forward Kelsey Johnson scored a layup following a game-tying 3-pointer by teammate Kaci Richardson.
ESU (8-3) led by as much as 9 in the first half, but the Bronchos matched that by taking a 77-68 lead with 31 seconds to play.
UCO coach Guy Hardaker said the key was slowing down the Lady Hornets’ 3-point shooting.
“They had nine (3-pointers) in the first half,” Hardaker said. “We practiced all week not leaving one pass away, staying tagged up to the shooter. I promise you, they’d penetrate, we’d help, they’d kick the shooter, we gave up a bunch. In the fourth, we didn’t give up those looks.”
In the third quarter, the Bronchos pulled to within a point. Junior guard Brooke Rayner stole the ball and threw it forward to Richardson, who laid it in to give UCO the lead. On the following possession, Rayner stole the ball again and laid it in herself, forcing an ESU timeout.
Rayner said it was a key moment in the game.
“We were really needing a spark at that moment,” Rayner said. “That really sparked us up and we finally got going after that, and I feel like that was the change in the game.”
Johnson led UCO with 18 points, followed by Rayner with 15. Freshman forward Caley Young registered a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
ESU senior guard Fredricka Sheats led all scorers with 24. Junior guard Karsen Schultz followed with 16, and sophomore guard Tre’Zure Jobe had 15.
Johnson said the Bronchos had to execute a different game plan than usual against the Lady Hornets.
“We had this game plan that weren’t going to help off shooters, and I don’t think in the first half we were doing the best job of that, so Coach really reiterated that at halftime,” Johnson said. “It’s a little different than what we usually do. We’re used to helping off shooters and being really aggressive, so we talked about how we couldn’t be as aggressive towards those ball handlers.”
This win was a bit of redemption for the Bronchos after falling 76-73 at Emporia State on Jan. 21.