No strangers to tournament success, Central Oklahoma opened the 2011 LSC Championships at Bruin Fieldhouse with a dominating quarterfinal victory, cruising past Angelo State, 76-52, in Wednesday’s first game.
UCO senior Ashley Beckley was named the LSC North Offensive Player of the Year on Tuesday’s banquet in Bartlesville, and she proved more than worthy of the honor. Beckley posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with three assists and two steals.
UCO junior forward Alyssa Fuxa led all scorers with 20 points while Alex Richardson scored 16 points, with seven rebounds and a team-high five blocked shots. Richardson, the reigning LSC North Offensive Player of the Week, just missed her third straight double-double
The Bronchos (19-8) will advance to Friday night’s (6 p.m.) semifinal round against the Tarleton State-Southeastern Oklahoma winner.
UCO entered the game as the LSC’s scoring leader at 75.2 points per game, and just eclipsed their average behind a 42-point second-half effort.
The Bronchos shot 48.3 percent in the second half, thanks in large part to an 8-0 run to start the second half.
However, the gritty but undermanned Rambelles kept fighting to the end despite suiting up only seven players. Senior Camille Perkins, a four-year starter at ASU, likely finished her collegiate career with a team-high 18 points. Paige Weishuhn scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Although the Bronchos edged ASU just 69-64 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams back on Dec.11 in Edmond, UCO was in control virtually from start to finish.
In the first half, the Bronchos closed out the half on a 12-5 run in the final five minutes as five different players connected on field goals to give UCO a commanding 34-22 edge at the break.
But by the second media timeout of the half, UCO had doubled up the Belles and never looked back.
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA NOTES
• The Bronchos are now 3-1 all-time against Angelo State in the Lone Star Conference Post-Season Tournament with wins in 1992, 1993 and 2011.
• The Bronchos have now won five straight first-round post-season tournament games (2007-11) after losing six straight (1994-97, 2003, 2005).
• Alex Richardson – who blocked 33 shots during the regular season – had a UCO tournament-record five blocks in Wednesday's first-round win over Angelo State.
• Senior Ashley Beckley scored 14 points Wednesday against the Rambelles to give her 105 points in eight career post-season tournament games. UCO's career tournament scoring record is held by Lizzie Brenner, who scored 148 points in eight tournament games (2007-09).
ANGELO STATE NOTES
* Today's loss to Central Oklahoma broke a four-game win streak for the Rambelles. Angelo State had won their final four regular-season games, as well as having won eight of their last nine contests.
* Angelo State is now 1-3 against UCO, all-time in LSC Quarterfinal play.
* Senior guard Camille Perkins concluded her Rambelle career as the school's second all-time leading scorer. She tallied a total of 1,764 career points.
* Central Oklahoma's 76 points represented the second-highest point total allowed by the Rambelles. UT-Permian Basin scored a seasons-best 83 points during an 83-80 win over ASU on Nov. 23.
* Angelo State's 52 points was the Rambelle's third lowest scoring output of the season. They managed just 52 points, earlier, against St. Mary’s on Jan. 3, scored 47 points in a loss at Tarleton State on Jan. 15 and had a season low 40 points at Northeastern State on Dec. 13.
* The Rambelles three steals tied for their second-fewest in a game this season. They had registered three thefts in two previous outings.