Most Dramatic Wins of 2009-10

In looking back at the 2009-10 school year, I started thinking about all the heart-stopping wins various UCO teams had and - being a guy who likes lists - decided to come up with a ranking of the 10 Most Dramatic Wins.

There were plenty of big wins by several different teams, but my list consists of 10 contests that were all down-to-the-wire thrillers that ended up with the Bronchos coming out on top in dramatic fashion. Women's basketball coach Guy Hardaker undoubtedly gained a few gray hairs during his season as three of his team's games made my list.

So here's a look at one man's list of UCO's Most Dramatic Wins of 2009-10.

No. 10 - Volleyball wins in five sets over Arkansas Tech. The Bronchos had lost four previous five-set matches before finally breaking through against the Golden Suns, prevailing 17-15 in the final set on back-to-back kills by Taylor Summers and Meaghan Wedberg.

No. 9 - Women's basketball over Southeastern Oklahoma. UCO avenged a home loss to the Savage Storm with a 101-97 overtime triumph in Durant in the regular season finale. The Bronchos stayed alive when SOSU missed two free throws in the final seconds of regulation and then won it in the first extra session as Rose Anderson had a clutch 3-pointer with 22 seconds left en route to scoring a career-high 22 points.

No. 8 - Soccer prevails in overtime against Texas A&M-Commerce. UCO eked out a 1-0 victory at Wantland Stadium in a late-season contest with the Lions on a goal by Katelyn Cropp with just 1:17 left in overtime.

No. 7 - Softball pulls out 6-4 win over Midwestern State. The Mustangs were ranked No. 3 in the country when UCO won an extra-inning thriller in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, getting a two-run double from Kacie Edwards in the top of the 10th to break a tie. Molly Shivers then put MSU down in order in the bottom of the frame to clinch the upset.

No. 6 - Men's basketball over Cameron. The Bronchos won their 11th straight game when a Chris Rhymes layup crawled over the iron for a basket at the buzzer and a 71-69 win in Lawton. Dauntae Williams had 29 points and 10 rebounds for UCO.

No. 5 - Softball knocks off No. 8 Missouri Western. UCO scored three runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to prevail 7-6. Kayce Raines tied it with a two-run single and Kacie Edwards followed with a game-winning single.

No. 4 - Soccer tops West Texas A&M in Lone Star Conference Tournament finals. The Bronchos had to win to earn a berth in the NCAA Division II national tournament and did it by the slimmest of margins with a penalty-kick victory. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtime periods before UCO finally won it 4-2 in PKs, getting the go-ahead goal from Summer White and the clincher from Nathalie Bernigaud.

No. 3 - Women's basketball outlasts Texas Woman's in two overtimes. The Bronchos needed a miracle to even get to OT and Savannah Hamilton delivered when she drained a 3-point rainbow at the regulation buzzer to tie it. TWU forced another OT with a last-second shot of its own, but UCO finally claimed a 96-93 road victory in the second extra session. Ashley Beckley scored 22 points, Jordan Stark had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Hamilton finished with 13 points.

No. 2 - Men's basketball over Emporia State. In the home opener, UCO overcame a 16-point deficit and survived a 116-114 double-overtime nail-biter against the Hornets. The two teams combined to shot over 65 percent from 3-point range while making 32 treys in a scintillating shooting exhibition, with Shane Carroll hitting eight in career-high 33-point outing for the Bronchos. Tyler Phillips made two free throws with 10 seconds left in the second OT to break a 114-all tie and ESU couldn't get off a potential winning shot at the end.

And No. 1 - Women's basketball - again - in an amazing 111-105 triple-overtime win over Abilene Christian in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. Wow is all I can say about this game, which I still have a hard time believing the Bronchos won. Clutch shots on both sides, amazing individual performances, big-time blunders . . . this game had it all. ACU appeared to have won when it scored with less than a second to play in the first OT to take a two-point lead, but the Wildcats were called for a technical when several players stormed the court as UCO was trying to inbound the ball. Jordan Stark drilled the two resulting free throws to tie it again and the Bronchos pulled away in the third extra period.

There you have it, my list of the 10 Most Dramatic Wins of 2009-10.

There were several other contests that nearly made the cut, like the football team's 24-17 road win over No. 13-ranked West Texas A&M and a 5-4 tennis victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith when Lacy Caldwell rallied for a three-set win in the final match, but in the end these 10 were the best.

Any arguments?