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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Maegan Holt
Corbey R. Dorsey
64
Central Okla. UCO 7-5,3-3 MIAA
72
Winner Neb.-Kearney UNKWBB 10-1,5-0 MIAA
Central Okla. UCO
7-5,3-3 MIAA
64
Final
72
Neb.-Kearney UNKWBB
10-1,5-0 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Central Okla. UCO 10 14 25 15 64
Neb.-Kearney UNKWBB 19 21 12 20 72

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Late Run Lifts Lopers Past the Bronchos, 72-64

Kearney, Neb. - The No. 12/7 Nebraska-Kearney women's basketball team closed on a 13-4 run to get past Central Oklahoma, 72-64, Sunday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

UNK (10-1, 5-0) pushes its win streak to nine straight and sits atop the MIAA standings after the first semester. The Lopers are now off until Jan. 1 and will return to practice on Dec. 28 as this year's Division II moratorium runs from Dec. 21-27.

The Bronchos (7-5, 3-3) are among the MIAA's tops squads and came back today from deficits of 37-20 and 42-26 to grab a 60-59 lead with 3:51 to play. UCO used some full-course pressure throughout the second half and went to an "amoeba" zone defense to slow down the Lopers.

"First half we were really good on both ends of the floor. We had control but in the second half they went zone to take that control away a little bit and make us have to make some (offensive) decisions, make us make some plays," said Loper head coach Carrie Eighmey. "It took us awhile to figure it out and find the open looks and shots. We did take a lot of good (shots) but they just didn't go in."

A layup from Elkhorn junior Brooke Carlson gave UNK the lead back and, after a 'Chos turnover, she sunk one of two free throws. The Lopers got two more stops and a Carlson three-point play to move ahead 65-60 with less than two to play. UCO didn't threaten down the stretch as they committed back-to-back turnovers.

Junior forward Elisa Backes (Salina, Kan.) haunted UCO again as she scored a game-high 23 thanks to 5 of 9 three-point shooting. Return to a reserve role today, she also had seven boards and four dimes in 26 minutes of work. Last year, Backes had a career-high 30 in a win over the 'Chos.

"It was gutty by our team to have that lead at halftime, give it up and get down and then to be able to fight and find a way to win late," said Eighmey. "UCO is very capable of scoring points in bunches. They have some really skilled players, especially in the paint. We hit some adversity but stayed locked in and didn't panic."

Both teams shot 41% from the floor with UNK making four more threes and two more freebies. The Lopers also were plus one on the boards and had three fewer turnovers. Besides Backes, Carlson had 10 of her 14 points in the second half with Iowa senior Maegan Holt tallying nine of her 13 in the first half. Finally, South Dakota junior wing Klaire Kirsch returned to action and promptly got close to a double double (eight points & eight rebounds).

"Brooke's a really skilled and smart player. Today she did a good job of being patient. When you're playing against size – like a Kelsey Johnson -- you just can't turn and shoot over her. You have to find the angles," said Eighmey. "That zone is tricky but it does give us some one-and-one opportunities in the paint so we did try and establish that a bit in the fourth quarter."

UCO got a combined 34 points and 16 rebounds from posts Kelsey Johnson and Alayzha Knapp. The pair went 14 of 23 from the field and 6 of 6 at the line.

These two teams will meet again Feb. 3 in Edmond. The Lopers are at Rogers State on Jan. 1 (Sat.) and Northeastern State on Jan. 3 (Mon.) to start the second semester. 

 
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