Texas-sized Blowout

1/26/2011 10:37:59 PM

Courtney Allen

Box Score

DENTON, Texas (Jan. 26) – A showdown between the two teams tied for the Lone Star Conference North Division lead quickly turned into a laugher here Wednesday night.

Alex Richardson scored eight of her career-high 26 points during a 10-0 run early in the game that put Central Oklahoma in control and the streaking Bronchos went on to hammer Texas Woman's 95-64 to hand fifth-year head coach Guy Hardaker his 100th career win.

Richardson was one of three UCO players to score 20-plus points, with Ashley Beckley adding 23 and Courtney Allen 20 as the Bronchos improved to 12-5 on the year and took over sole possession of the North Division lead at 5-0 with their sixth straight win and their 16th consecutive victory over the Pioneers. TWU fell to 13-7 and 4-1.

“We came out ready to play and picked up a great win on the road,” said Hardaker, now 100-40 with the Bronchos. “They had a hard time stopping our post players in the first half and then Courtney hit a lot of big shots in the second half.”

Richardson, Beckley and Kylie Mayes combined for 32 first-half points in the paint to stake the Bronchos to a huge 41-18 lead and Allen erupted for 17 points in the final 20 minutes to keep the Bronchos safely in front.

UCO ended up shooting 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field for the game and 82.1 percent (23-of-28) from the line while also outrebounding the Pioneers 48-29.

Richardson, a 6-foot-2 junior forward who entered the game averaging 7.4 points a game on the season, hit 9-of-12 shots and 8-of-10 free throws in her 26-point outing and added six rebounds.

Beckley had seven rebounds and four assists to go along with her 23 points as she moved into third place on UCO's career scoring list with 1,347 points. Allen nailed 6-of-7 long-range shots in finishing with 20 points while adding six rebounds and four assists andMayes chipped in 11 points and six boards.

Richardson had a pair of three-point plays and added a short jumper during her early surge when the Bronchos reeled off 10 unanswered points to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 12-4 lead barely four minutes into the game.

The lead reached doubled digits at 16-6 on a Mayes jumper at the 12:24 mark and it climbed to 20 at 32-12 with 6:18 remaining when Richardson had yet another layup. Richardson's inside bucket in the final minute staked UCO to its huge 41-18 halftime cushion.

TWU never got closer than 20 in the second half and the Bronchos' lead peaked at 41 (92-52) in the final minutes.

UCO returns home Saturday for another LSC North Division contest, taking on long-time rival East Central at 5:30 p.m. Purchase tickets to the game by clicking here.

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