Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 15, 2016) – One of these days, Oklahoma Christian women's basketball coach Stephanie Findley says, her team is going to find its offensive stride, but it didn't happen Tuesday.

OC cut an 8-point deficit in the final minute to one, but couldn't quite finish off the comeback and fell 62-59 to visiting Central Oklahoma in the Eagles' Nest.

OC (0-3) limited the Bronchos to 38.5 percent shooting, but UCO (3-0) hit seven 3-pointers during a third quarter that gave it control of the game. OC went just 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from the field after halftime, stifling the Lady Eagles' bid to rally, and just 38.9 percent for the game.

The Lady Eagles hit only 5-of-23 3-point attempts, a 21.7-percent clip, while UCO went 14-of-37 (37.8 percent) from behind the arc.

"We shot better tonight than we did last weekend, but we know that we can shoot even better than we did," Findley said. "We've just got to get in a groove and get our shots back. We can hit those. I was real happy with the defensive effort, even though we lost their shooters periodically in the second half."

The Lady Eagles lost despite a strong performance from McKenzie Stanford. The senior forward from Perkins, limited to 0-of-7 shooting and two points in a loss to Colorado-Colorado Springs in the Lady Eagles' previous game, responded with her first double-double of the season (and the eighth of her career), scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

She did so despite dealing with the considerable defensive presence of UCO's 6-foot-5 center, Jesheon Cooper. Stanford increased her career scoring total to 1,217 points, moving past Ali Griffin (1,206 from 1999-2002) into 20th place on OC's all-time list.

"McKenzie came out determined," Findley said. "She did not have a good couple of games this weekend, so I was glad to see her bounce back. I'm glad to see the team as a whole bounce back. UCO is a very good team and after watching them … I was a little worried after we didn't look so good over the weekend about what this game might be.

"I thought the girls fought their hearts out. We've just got to wake our offense up. One of these nights, it's going to happen and we're going to jump on somebody."

The Lady Eagles limited UCO to just one basket and six points in the second quarter. OC scored the first 11 points of the quarter to take a 28-20 lead, and build its advantage to 32-21 on a basket by Hope Dawkins at the 1:37 mark before the Bronchos closed within 32-26 at halftime.

UCO then began burying 3-pointers and turned a 10-point deficit at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter into a 49-44 lead entering the fourth quarter.

"They made shots, which they can do, and we knew that," Findley said. "The third quarter, we tried to switch up our defenses and we could not get on the same page on a few of the possessions. Then we had to adjust and not do what we wanted to do, because we weren't focused."

A 6-0 run – fueled by a 3-pointer and two free throws by Addy Clift – pulled OC even at 52-52 with 3:43 left. But the Lady Eagles suddenly went cold and the Bronchos scored the next eight points, including 3-point daggers by Blake Blessington and Marley Anderson, that made it 60-52 with 1:06 left.

Stanford hit two free throws with 52.7 seconds left and a steal-and-layup by Kylee Hicks pulled OC within 60-56 with 43 seconds left. After a defensive stop by OC, Clift buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 13 seconds left to cut the margin to one. But the Lady Eagles, needing a quick foul to stop the clock, didn't get one until 2.3 seconds left.

Olivia Mason – who led the Bronchos with 17 points – hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left, and OC wasn't able to get off a shot after the ensuing inbounds pass.

Clift added 15 points for OC, coming off the bench for the first time this season, and went 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Hicks had her third straight solid game at point guard, stuffing the stat sheet with six points, six steals and five assists.

Blessington scored 12 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists for UCO.

OC will return to action on Saturday against in-state rival Cameron. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.