Box Score EDMOND, Okla. (Dec. 29, 2016) – Oklahoma Christian has proved to be the toughest opponent this basketball season for undefeated, No. 19-ranked Central Oklahoma, but that wasn't quite enough for the Lady Eagles on Thursday afternoon.

Second-quarter shooting issues put OC into a double-digit hole and the Lady Eagles couldn't close the gap all the way, eventually falling 75-67 at Hamilton Field House in their final nonconference game of the 2016-17 season.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for OC (7-7), with the latter three of those coming on the road. Six of OC's losses this season have come against teams that have been regionally or nationally ranked in NCAA Division II. The culprit this time, as has often been the case, was poor shooting. OC went 26 of 72 from the field (36.1 percent), including 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) from 3-point range.

UCO also had significantly more free-throw opportunities than did OC. The Bronchos went 19 of 24 from the line, while OC was 8 of 11.

"That happens when you play good teams at Christmas and you only have two days of practice," OC coach Stephanie Findley said of her team's shooting woes. "We didn't shoot well from anywhere and we didn't get to the free-throw line as much as they did. That cost us. We've got to try harder to get in there and get some fouls called."

OC lost despite standout despite a strong performance by McKenzie Stanford. The senior forward from Perkins poured in 25 points and moved up on both the OC and Heartland Conference career scoring list. Stanford – who now has 1,403 points – passed Rachel Martin (2004-07) for 14th place on the OC list, and moved past Amanda Newton of Drury (Mo.) (2002-05) into ninth on the Heartland list.

UCO (11-0) escaped the Eagles' Nest with a three-point win on Nov. 15, which had been the Bronchos' closest game all season. Including Thursday's game, UCO has had only three games decided by single digits, and two of those have come against its cross-Edmond rival.

Aided by a strange technical foul assessed against OC before tipoff for not meeting the deadline to list its starters in the official scorebook, UCO jumped to a 10-2 lead, but OC scored 10 straight points to take the lead. Sarah Parker's third 3-pointer in a 65-second span, at the 4:58 mark of the first quarter, put OC ahead 15-13.

Her third 3-pointer put Parker, a senior forward from Piedmont, over the 1,000-point mark for her college career, which includes a season at Northwestern Oklahoma State and another at Butler (Kan.) Community College before her arrival at OC. She ended the game with 1,004 collegiate points.

A jumper by Hannah Holasek – who scored a season-high 10 points – gave the Lady Eagles a 20-18 lead with 1:48 left in the first quarter, but OC managed only two points over the next six minutes. The Bronchos took advantage with a 15-2 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Olivia Mason and another by Melinda Murillo and they never trailed again.

UCO led 43-31 at halftime and OC had trouble cutting into that margin, coming no closer than nine points in the third quarter. A three-point play by 6-foot-5 Jesheon Cooper extended the Bronchos' lead to 63-49 with 9:34 left and they were up 73-60 with 4:21 left before a final surge by OC.

Seven straight points, capped by a three-point play by Audrey Hayes with 2:28 left, pulled OC within 73-67. But those were OC's final points, as the Lady Eagles missed two shots, committed two turnovers and gave up two offensive rebounds to UCO after Hayes' basket.

"The girls hung in there and they fought hard," Findley said.

Parker finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while 5-foot-4 backup point guard Shae Scheffler also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to go with five points.

"Shae played really well," Findley said. "Hannah plays very good defense. She did a good job. She hustles. She reads things well. She made some extra things happen off rebounds, from tips or diving on the floor for loose balls. She does that every night."

Four Bronchos scored in double figures, led by Murillo with 19 points. Cooper had 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, while Mason and Hayley Bryan scored 12 points each.

OC will resume its Heartland Conference schedule on Saturday, when it will host St. Edward's (Texas) at 1 p.m.