UCO Women’s Basketball: Season in Review

The University of Central Oklahoma women’s basketball team closed out its season this past weekend, concluding a frustrating yet constructive year in head coach Hannah Moeller’s first year with the program.

After going 1-1 in their final week, UCO finished with a 10-18 overall record and went 5-14 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) play, marking the fourth straight year women’s basketball has had a losing record.

Coming off last year’s 8-20 record when head coach Erin Andrews was at the helm, it was expected to be a rebuilding year with only three players returning from that team, and a would-be fourth returner, Gracee Miller, medically retiring before the season started.

This year’s roster consisted of seven transfers, including two Moeller brought over from her last stop at Mid-America Christian University: Kendrick Bailey and Haley Harbour. 

Three freshmen recruits rounded out the roster.

It was a bumpy road at the beginning of the season with a 1-7 start, which included four double-digit losses; however, Central showed promise and, more importantly, fight. 

 Moeller had this team consistently playing hard despite the score, a relevant shift of improvement.

Their change in effort also led to greater competitiveness in games against superior opponents, with close losses to then No. 10-ranked Harding University and No. 8 Pittsburg State University early in the season.

UCO went 5-4 in non-conference games after rattling off four in a row before fully diving into their conference schedule, proving the MIAA to be one of the more indomitable Division II conferences in the country.

Central Oklahoma finished 12th in conference standings out of 14 teams.

Despite a changing culture, offensive talent and production proved to be the Achilles heel for the Bronchos, resulting in their disappointing placement.

The team shot just 36% from the field for the season, finishing 247th out of 290 teams in that metric among all NCAA Division II teams. They also shot 26.69% from three and 66% from the free-throw line, ranking 230th and 232nd, respectively.

Central finished 38th in bench points per game, but that’s more due to a lack of a main offensive threat. On any given night, someone new could be the focal point of the offense.

Their offensive struggles were the main contributor to the 20 tallies in the loss column, which is unfortunate because they did display defensive prowess.

Central Oklahoma finished 7th in blocks per game, 38th in rebounds per game, and 80th in field goal percentage allowed per game; much higher marks than their offensive statistics.

Individually, sophomore forward Jerney Bennett proved to be a stalwart in the paint, finishing fourth in blocks per game at 3.93. She was honored with an MIAA All-Defensive team spot after leading the league in blocks with 109 for the season.

Overall, UCO had a rough season record-wise and statistically, but there were plenty of silver linings and building blocks to build upon as Hannah Moeller continues to establish herself at UCO for future seasons.

Even in their offensive weakness, freshman Nykaiya Dillard flashed potential, leading the team in points per game at 11.5. 

Sophomore guard Kaitlyn McCarn was second with 10.5.