It took two overtimes, but Central Oklahoma is headed to the finals of the LSC Championship.
Thanks to clutch baskets by senior Ashley Beckley and Alex Richardson’s domination in the paint, UCO knocked off No. 1 seed Tarleton State, 74-70 in Friday night’s semifinal round.
Beckley scored 25 points, including 10 in the two overtimes. Richardson had 26 points and 19 rebounds. Together, the Bronchos now have the chance to win its first tournament title since 1992.
All five UCO starters played at least 42 minutes, meaning it will be a short turnaround for Sunday’s LSC final against the winner of Northeastern State/Texas Woman’s.
Tarleton drops to 24-4 but its season will continue. The TexAnns have secured a spot in next week’s South Central Regional.
In a back-and-forth game that saw no team lead the game by more than seven, TSU was hurt by foul trouble as three starters eventually fouled out. Junior standout Shelby Adamson picked up her fifth foul late in the first overtime when she was called for charging.
Richardson had two straight buckets to help extend the game to another overtime. In the second extra session, Beckley hit a 3-pointer to untie a 63-63 game.
Tarleton answered with a rare 3-pointer by Sonya Sundberg for her only points of the game.
But UCO would respond again. Alyssa Fuxa converted a three-point play, giving the Bronchos a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
For Tarleton, four players finished with double-digit scoring, led by Morgan Stehling’s 19 points off the bench. Kiara Wright had 15 points before fouling out, while Adamson scored 14 and Tomika Lynce 11.
The drama actually started in regulation, when UCO erased a 56-50 deficit with 3:42 to play, with three unanswered layups, including Beckley’s game-tying layup with 1:51 to play. Neither team would score, forcing a second overtime.
Just a year ago, UCO won a triple-overtime game in this tournament against Abilene Christian, 111-105.
UCO Notes
Central Oklahoma improves to 20-8 with tonight’s LSC semifinal win over Tarleton State and has registered its fifth-consecutive 20 win season.
The Bronchos are now 12-13 in the LSC Women’s Basketball Championship.
UCO is now 7-3 all-time in LSC Tournament games held in Bartlesville, Okla.
The Bronchos are 15-2 when leading at halftime and 19-1 when outrebounding their opponent this season.
Ashley Beckley had her 12th double-double of the season tonight against Tarleton State, scoring 25 points to go with 13 rebounds. She has now reached double-figure scoring totals in 43 consecutive games, dating back to last season.
Alex Richardson had four blocked shots tonight against Tarleton State, giving her 42 blocks on the season to rank fifth on the UCO single-season chart.
Courtney Allen made one of three point attempts tonight and is now in sole possession of fifth place on the UCO single-season 3-point list. She has 63 thus far.
Tarleton Notes
TSU is now 2-9 in LSC Tournament play.
Morgan Stehling had a season-high 19 points.
TSU is now 1-1 in double-overtime games this season.
TSU is 0-3 against UCO in LSC Tournament play and has not advanced past the semifinals in nine trips.
This was TSU's first loss when leading in the final 5 minutes of regulation (8-1).