A Pair of Runs Help Women’s Basketball Capture a Valentine’s Day Win Over the Weekend.

The University of Central Oklahoma women’s basketball team got back in the win column after beating Rogers State University Saturday in a Valentine’s Day matchup at Hamilton Field House.

It was Central Oklahoma’s only game of the week, and the victory came at an opportune time as the Bronchos snapped a three-game losing streak.

UCO now sits at 9-15 overall, and 4-11 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Association (MIAA) play with two weeks left in the regular season.

Rogers State came into the weekend matchup already having had one up on the Bronchos after beating UCO in Claremore back in December.

Both teams came out off-kilter after the tip, and it was a slugfest for the early part of the opening frame. Rogers State inched ahead of the Bronchos 9-5, but UCO broke the stalemate with a demanding 11-2 run to go up five at the end of the first.

Rogers State clawed back in the second frame, however, in another gritty, non-aesthetically appealing quarter of basketball to tie things up at 27-27 to end the first half.

The third quarter opened the offensive floodgates a bit between the two teams as both Rogers State and UCO both enjoyed some of their best shooting quarters, shooting 43 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Rogers State opened up a six-point lead, but another end-of-quarter mini-run by UCO made it a single-point game entering the final quarter.

After exchanging jabs in the early part of the fourth with Rogers State holding a one-point lead, UCO connected on a haymaker and went on a 16-2 sprint in just under six minutes of game action to take an 11-point lead, the largest of the game.

Guard Kaitlyn McCarn had nine of those 16 points. Having only two prior, she finished with 11 for the game.

Senior Talia Pogi also contributed with a three-pointer during the run as she had her strongest performance of the season after an up-and-down year, leading the team in scoring with a dozen.

Jerney Bennett and Madison Roberts added two each as well.

More importantly, though, the Bronchos locked down on defense during that stretch and forced Rogers State into 1-9 shooting, a welcome sign for UCO, who’ve struggled to close games on that side of the floor this season.

Freshman Nykaiya Dillard continued to flash her potential with 11 points, and second-year guard Peyton Walker had a strong all-around outing with five points, four rebounds, and three steals in addition to non-box score plays that helped UCO pull away down the stretch.

The Bronchos once again struggled on the offensive end, shooting under 40 percent for the duration. They’ve now shot under the 40 mark 11 games in a row.

It seems improbable that UCO can outscore anyone through a scoring explosion, making their effort on the defensive end all the more crucial heading down the final stretch, especially considering they have noticeable talent in that area with Bennett in the paint and Walker on the perimeter.

One thing the Bronchos always have, though, is effort.

Head coach Hannah Moeller has implemented a noticeable change in that sense in her first year, and with more years down the road, it seems like she’s setting a foundation to be able to carry them to more wins with elevated roster talent.

Central Oklahoma returns to its typical two-games-per-week format this week as it hosts Washburn University on Thursday and Central Missouri University on Saturday.