#25 Mustangs Go Cold in Loss at UCO
A pair of dry spells cost No. 25-ranked Midwestern State dearly Wednesday night
against Central Oklahoma at Hamilton Fieldhouse in Edmond.
Powered by huge runs
near the end of each of half, the Bronchos rolled to a 72-53 win in
non-conference play.
The Mustangs hit the Christmas Break with a 7-2
mark and will next hit the floor on New Year's Eve against Eastern New Mexico at
Greyhound Arena in Portales.
"This game was a tough game for us to
play," MSU coach Noel Johnson said. "Regardless of that, we didn't come to play
and didn't shoot the ball well. That's not us."
MSU shot a season low
24.2 percent from the field (16-of-66) including a 1-of-10 showing (10 percent)
from the arc. The Mustangs also struggled from the charity stripe at
20-for-35.
Central Oklahoma's inside duo of Alyssa Fuxa (18 points, 5
rebounds) and Courtney Harper (17 points, 9 rebounds) combined for 35
points.
Midwestern State junior forward Shambreka Jones failed to
convert a three-point play but tied the game at 19-19 with five minutes to play,
but the Mustangs wouldn't connect on another field until Skyler Warrick's baseline jumper
with 31 seconds left for the half.
In between, the Bronchos reeled off a
16-2 run to push the advantage to 35-21 after consecutive 3-pointers by Chelsi
Dennis and Courtney Harper.
The Mustangs battled back to within five
points on two occasions and were within 53-48 on Shatoia Gober's put-back bucket
with 9:47 to play.
But MSU once again went dry from the field for the
next seven minutes while going 1-for-8 from the free throw line which allowed
UCO to roll off a 13-1 run to take a commanding 66-49 lead on McKenzie Solberg's
with 4:02 to play.
Junior guard Kirsti Degelia completed a double-double
with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Gober finished with 10 points and nine
rebounds to help the Mustangs control a 54-40 rebounding edge.
Central
Oklahoma upped its season record to 7-2.
Oland Shoots Consecutive 68s, Sits Second at Dixie Amateur
Midwestern State's Derek Oland carded a second consecutive 4-under 68 to stand
second at the halfway point of the 82nd Dixie Amateur following Wednesday's
second round in Pompano Beach, Fla.
The sophomore from McKinney mastered the Par-72 Cypress
Course at Palm-Aire Country Club to move within six strokes of tournament leader
Daniel Berger of Jupiter, Fla.
Berger, a sophomore at Florida State,
notched rounds of 63 and 67 for a two-round total of 130 (-13). Berger finished
third individually at the NCAA Division I Southwest Regional last season while
helping the Seminoles eighth-place showing at the national
tournament.
Oland is coming off of a 26th-place individual showing while
helping the Mustangs to a ninth-place finish at the 2011 NCAA Division II
Midwest/South Central Super Regional last season.
The 82nd Dixie Amateur
continues with a third round Thursday at the Woodland Country Club's West Golf
Course in Fort Lauderdale.
Following a cut, the final round will be
played at Heron Bay Country Club on Friday.
The Dixie Amateur, which
originated in 1924, attracts a strong field of talented amateurs annually. Past
champions include PGA Tour standouts Andy Bean (1975), Bruce Fleisher (1969),
Lanny Wadkins (1971), Nolan Henke (1987), Len Mattiace (1984) and Jesper
Parnevik (1986).
