EDMOND, Okla. – Cameron women's basketball could not overcome a slow start Tuesday evening at the Hamilton Field House. The Aggies dropped the mid-week contest to Central Oklahoma 72-65.
The Aggies fall to 2-2 on the season, heading into Thanksgiving break. CU has one final non-conference match Saturday at Oklahoma Baptist, with the tip scheduled for 1:30 pm.
Karley Miller recorded a career-high 20 points to lead all scorers Tuesday. She also tallied her first double-double with her game-high 11 rebounds. Miller had two points at the break before catching fire in the final 12 minutes, knocking down four threes during that stretch.
Kailyn Lay scored 17 points, and Alena Wilson chipped in 10. Korie Allensworth added five, Katie King and Kiara Lovings had four, Kloe Heidebrecht and LaKya Leslie recorded two and Mikayla Peterson had one.
King and Wilson snagged five boards, Lay grabbed four, Allensworth, Leslie and Peterson pulled in two, and Heidebrecht and Hallie Horton had one rebound.
Lay dished out a team-high three assists, Heidebrecht added two, and Taliyah Johnson, King, and Peterson had one.
Cameron started the game shooting 0-for-8 and found themselves down 9-1 midway through the quarter. CU would go 3-of-15 in the opening frame, while UCO hit 9-of-19 shots to build a 22-9 lead after one.
In the second quarter, seven players recorded the Black-and-Gold points, with no one making more than one shot to score 14 points. Lay would be the leading scorer for the Aggies going into the half, with nine points, with Cameron trailing 44-23.
The Bronchos had an unsung leader on to pick up some slack; Aliyah Llanusa would lead them in scoring with 19 points. She was joined in double-figures by the top three scorers coming into the game, Alayzha Knapp and Brooke Rayner tallied 14 points each, and Karly Wadsworth added 13.
The second half was more competitive, as the Aggies would outscore UCO by 12 points, shooting 43 percent on 12-for-28.
In the third quarter, both teams would score a quick two points, but the defenses would lock in, causing both teams to go over two minutes without scoring until a Lay layup at the 6:33 mark. CU would hold a 10-8 advantage in the final 2:45 to trim the deficit to 18, heading into the fourth.
The Aggies, behind Miller's 12 fourth-quarter points, would cut the score to two possessions, down five points with 1:28 to play. Cameron would miss two shots the rest of the way, unable to score, falling to UCO 72-65.