Women’s Basketball Falls on Alumni Day

The University of Central Oklahoma women’s basketball team was unable to add another win this past week after losing Saturday afternoon to Emporia State University at Hamilton Field House during Alumni Day. 

UCO now stands at 8-13 on the season and 3-9 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) conference games.

The Bronchos suffered another unsalvageable slow start after they fell behind 21-14 at the end of the first quarter, shooting 4-of-16 from the field in the opening frame compared to the ESU Lady Hornets’ 9-of-16. 

Emporia went into halftime up nine after extending their hot shooting start into the second quarter, ending the half shooting over 50 percent from both the field and three-point range.

The contrary was true for the Bronchos, who finished the first half with a sub-30 percent shooting effort.

The second half was a continuation of the first, and the Bronchos never found a comeback chance after being unable to create a visible dent in the Lady Hornets’ lead, despite winning the final frame.

In UCO’s last two losses, they’ve fallen behind early, and a strong fourth-quarter performance wasn’t enough to push for a winning chance.

The Bronchos never eclipsed a quarter with a plus-40 shooting percentage during this game, further cementing offensive struggles as the main inhibitor of the Bronchos’ success this season.

Silver linings were offered in the loss, however, as Kaitlyn McCarn had 12 points, proving to be a valuable transfer add, and promising freshman Nykaiya Dillard matched with 12 as well. 

McCarn and Dillard have consistently been the Bronchos’ two leading scorers this season and have offered stability at the guard position for this year and future seasons for UCO.

After a win earlier in the week versus Newman University, the Bronchos went 1-1 this week and have now lost five of their last six Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) conference games. 

UCO now has seven games remaining in the season and hits the road this week. The Bronchos play at Northwest Missouri University on Thursday before traveling to Missouri Western University on Saturday.