Upset Special!

1/28/2012 6:52:00 PM

Autumn Huffman

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EDMOND (Jan. 28) – Courtney Harper isn't exactly known for her 3-point prowess, but the junior forward stepped up and hit a big one in the clutch Saturday afternoon to highlight an overtime scoring spurt that lifted Central Oklahoma to a stunning 77-71 upset of No. 6-ranked Northeastern State.

The Bronchos, who dropped a 59-40 decision to the RiverHawks two weeks ago, trailed 69-65 two minutes into the extra session before two Heather Davis free throws ignited an 11-0 run that put UCO in command.

Autumn Hufman's follow shot tied it and then Harper – shooting just 18.5 percent (5-of-27) from long range entering the contest – put the Bronchos on top with a long trey from the top of the circle at the 1:35 mark. NSU missed its next two shots and UCO put the game away with a driving layup from Chelsea Robinson and two more Davis free throws that made it 76-69 with 32 seconds remaining.

The Bronchos, playing without seven players who have suffered season-ending injuries, improved to 13-8. The RiverHawks had an 11-game winning streak snapped and fell to 17-2.

“I don't really know how to describe what this win means to our team,” UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. “We've had a lot of setbacks this year, but these girls keep fighting and keep working and they don't lose faith. They just weren't going to be denied today and I couldn't be more proud of them.”

Harper finished with a team-high 18 points, hitting both of her 3-point tries along with all four free throw attempts. Davis went 8-of-9 from the line in a 16-point outing and Jill Bryan added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Robinson was dynamic off the bench with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes, while Huffman and seven points and eight rebounds in a reserve role.

UCO fell behind quickly and trailed by 12 (21-9) seven minutes into the contest before rallying to take a 37-35 halftime lead.

The Bronchos came back to tie it at 24-24 on a three-point play by Huffman with 8:46 left, got back-to-back 3-pointers from Rachel New and Chelsi Dennis in forging ahead 33-28 and took a two-point advantage into the break.

The RiverHawks opened the second half with a 14-5 run to regain a seven-point lead (49-42) before UCO rallied to tie it on several occasions, but NSU was up by six (61-55) with 3:46 left to play.

Treys by Bryan and Davis sandwiched two Harper free throws in an 8-0 run that had the Bronchos on top 63-61 at 2:14, with the RiverHawks drawing even on a pair of foul shots at 1:53.

UCO regained the lead on Hamilton's layup at 0:44, but NSU scored at 0:23 to it at 65-all and that's the way regulation ended after the Bronchos missed two game-winning shots in the final five seconds.

The RiverHawks scored the first four points of OT, but it was all UCO after that and the Bronchos ended up scoring nearly 30 points more than NSU's defensive average of 48.9 that ranks third-best in NCAA Division II.

UCO doesn't play again until hosting Newman next Saturday at 2 p.m.

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