By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Thursday was a relatively quiet offensive night for Washburn University senior star Aubree Dewey, right up until it counted the most.
After scoring just two points in the first half and six through the first three quarters without a field goal, Dewey took over the game down the stretch, scoring 10 of her 16 points over the final 9:35, including the game-winning hoop with two seconds remaining as the Ichabods rallied for a 64-62 win over Central Oklahoma in Lee Arena.
Washburn senior Aubree Dewey scores the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining in Thursday's 64-62 MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn's women's basketball team celebrates Thursday night's 64-62 MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I think coach (Lora Westling) put me in that position, called the right plays, everybody executed at the end and it just ended up being me for the one to put it in the bucket,'' Dewey said.
"Coach told us she wanted us to take the last shot so I kept it long as I could up top, draining the clock as much as I could, all the way down to the last seconds so I could try and get that last-second shot.''
Westling said she was proud of the way Dewey stepped up her offensive game late in the contest.
"Twenty-two (Aliyah Lianusa) is an elite on-ball defender and she was doing a great job on Aubree all night,'' Westling said. "We told her, 'The better you play, the more people are going to come after you.'
"Twenty-two was coming after her and instead of getting frustrated I think she finally just flipped the switch and said, 'Alright, enough's enough and I'm going to do what I do regardless of what you do.' ''
Central Oklahoma, which fell to 2-11 overall and 1-6 in the conference, took a 60-56 lead with 3:50 remaining, but Dewey answerd with back-to-back hoops in the lane to tie things up with 1:29 left.
WU sophomore Yibari Nwidadah scored to put the Ichabods (9-3, 4-2) in front 62-60 with 59 seconds left, but the Bronchos tied things up with 45 seconds remaining.
After both teams missed shots Washburn got the ball back and called time out with 23.1 seconds on the clock.
Dewey kept the ball at the top of the key as the clock ran down before driving and hitting the game-winner.
After a Broncho time out Central Oklahoma missed a potential game-tying shot as the clock hit zeroes.
Washburn looked as if it might be on the way to an easy win when it opened up a 20-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter and went in front 30-16 with 4:01 left in the opening half.
The Ichabods were still in front 36-27 at halftime and went in front 50-39 with 1:37 left in the third quarter but UCO went on a 19-4 run to take a 58-54 advantage with 5:35 left, setting the stage for the exciting finish.
Senior Mackenzie Gamble and sophomore Aniah Wayne added 11 points apiece for the Ichabods, with both players canning three 3-pointers.
Nwidadah scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds while freshman Madelyn Amekporfor also had nine points.
In addition to her 16 points, which tied for game-high honors, Dewey had seven rebounds, five assists and went six of six from the free throw line.
Alena Wilson and LaKysia Johnson scored 16 points apiece for the Bronchos while Reagon Fox had 14 points and hit all four of UCO's 3-pointers on the night.
Washburn will be back at home Saturday for a 1 p.m. MIAA contest against Newman.
WASHBURN WOMEN 64, CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 62
Central Oklahoma 13 14 17 18 -- 62
Washburn 20 16 15 13-- 64
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (2-11, 1-6)
Wilson 6-14 4-4 16, Young 2-9 0-0 4, Stice 1-4 0-0 2, Fox 4-8 2-2 14, Llanusa 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 6-13 4-10 16, Wadsworth 0-1 0-0 0, Williston 1-3 0-0 2, Miller 1-2 0-0 2, Pogi 0-2 2-2 2, Martin 0-0 2-2 2, Foreman 0-0 0-0 0, Factor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-59 14-20 62.
WASHBURN (9-3, 4-2)
Snyder 1-1 0-1 2, Nwidadah 4-8 1-2 9, Gamble 4-9 0-0 11, Dewey 5-12 6-6 16, Wayne 3-11 2-2 11, Giovannetti 0-2 0-0 0, Davison 0-3 4-6 4, Amekporfor 2-5 4-5 9, Boyd 0-3 0-0 0, Shieferecke 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 19-55 19-24 64.
3-point goals -- Central Oklahoma 4-14 (Fox 4-6, Wilson 0-2, Stice 0-2, Pogi 0-2, Johnson 0-1, Wadsworth 0-1), Washburn 7-21 (Wayne 3-10, Gamble 3-5, Amekporfor 1-1, Dewey 0-2, Giovannetti 0-1, Davison 0-1, Schieferecke 0-1). Rebounds -- Central Oklahoma 32 (Wilson), Washburn 44 (Nwidadah 9). Assists -- Central Oklahoma 8 (Fox 2, Llanusa 2), Washburn 10 (Dewey 5). Turnovers -- Central Oklahoma 8, Washburn 17. Total fouls -- Central Oklahoma 23, Washburn 16. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
