CHICKASHA — Stifling defense put Central Oklahoma in control early and the No. 18-ranked Bronchos went on to a 78-55 drubbing of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Tuesday night.
UCO had five steals and forced nine turnovers in the first seven minutes of the game to grab a quick double-digit lead, opened up a 21-point halftime bulge and coasted the rest of the way for its third straight win in improving to 3-1.
“Our defense was really good in the first half and led to a lot of easy baskets for us,” UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. “We came out really focused on shutting down their big girl and forcing some turnovers and did a great job in both those areas. We got a little sloppy in the second half, but it was still a good game for us.”
USAO’s Charitie Lewis entered the game averaging nearly 18 points a game, but she had just four points on 2-of-7 shooting and the Bronchos harassed the Lady Drovers into 33 turnovers — 21 in the first half alone.
Ashley Beckley led the Bronchos, scoring 14 of her game-high 22 points in the opening half while hitting 8-of-14 shots and all six free throw tries. She was the only one in double figures, though 11 of UCO’s 12 players scored in the rout.
The Bronchos, who fell six spots in the Division II poll that came out earlier Tuesday, trailed 2-0 and 4-2 early in the contest before surging in front to stay on consecutive layups by Rose Anderson, Beckley and Cristina Yarbrough.
UCO’s lead grew to 10 (19-9) by the 12:39 mark when Kasey Tweed drilled a 3-pointer from the wing and it was a 30-15 advantage after a Courtney Allen trey with 6:16 left in the half. The Bronchos stretched that to 21 (42-21) by intermission as Brianne Grisham had back-to-back layups.
It became a 30-point cushion at 60-30 eight minutes into the second half on a Murphree layup and the lead peaked at 33 (65-32) two minutes later when Allen canned another 3-pointer.
The Bronchos had eight of their 14 turnovers in the final 10 minutes to allow USAO to get within the final 23-point margin.
UCO returns to action next Tuesday, going to Stephenville, Texas to take on Tarleton State in a Lone Star Conference crossover game.
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Bronchos drub USAO
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