Box Score Kearney, Neb. – The Central Oklahoma Bronchos shot 74 percent in the first half to defeat Nebraska-Kearney, 70-53, Thursday night in Edmond.
 
With the win, UCO (17-10, 11-10) is now tied with Missouri Southern State and Washburn for fifth place in the MIAA standings.
 
Falling to 6-7 on the road, the Lopers (14-13, 10-11) are tied with Southwest Baptist (15-12, 10-11) for eighth place. On Saturday, UNK is at Northeastern State (8-19, 5-16) with SBU at Northwest Missouri State (5-22, 3-18).
 
The Lopers swept SBU this year so they would win the tie-breaker. Of note, NSU pushed No. 9 Fort Hays State to the brink tonight but fell 59-56.
 
To beat Kearney for a fourth straight time, UCO came out of the gates red hot, going 9 of 12 from the field and 6 of 6 at the line to tally 26 first quarter points.
 
The 'Chos were even hotter over the next 10 minutes, sinking 8 of 11 shots, including a 4 of 5 effort from behind the arc. Guards McKenzie Solberg (12) and Olivia Mason (11) combined for 23 first half points as UCO went into the locker room up 46-17.
 
"You can't start a game like that on the road," said UNK assistant coach Brandon Rohr. "We just weren't ready tonight. If you dig yourself a hole like that against a good team, it's usually not going to end well."
 
UNK made just 26% (7 of 27) of its first half shots, including 0 of 6 from three point land. UCO also had a 17-9 rebounding margin and tallied 15 points off of nine Loper turnovers.
 
"We have to defend a high level. I thought that was the biggest difference. Early on, their urgency on closing out on Laramey (Becker) and McKenzie (Brown) was a lot better than ours at the other end. We've got to play better moving forward."
 
Things turned around a bit in the second half as UNK outscored UCO by a 36-24 margin. The Lopers held the 'Chos to 30% shooting while going 10 of 12 at the line and winning the battle on the glass by two, 20-18.
 
Overall, a balanced UCO attack featured four starters in double digits, led by junior forward Julia Mason (15). She also tied for the team lead in assists (four) and rebounds (four).
 
Forcing 20 turnovers, UNK was led by Grand Island sophomore guard McKenzie Brown. She scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the second half and played a team-best 35 minutes.
 
Finally, the Lopers got 18 points off its bench, including eight from post Kennedy Sander (Lincoln Pius X), four from center Brianna Miller (Kearney H.S.) and three from post Laurel Tomlinson (Salt Lake City, Utah).
 
Saturday's regular season finale in Tahlequah tips at 1:30 p.m.