Complete Game Notes

The Mavericks will wrap up the first half of the MIAA season at home and then start the second half on the road as they play a pair of teams in the top three of the MIAA this week. Wednesday they will host Pittsburg State at 5:30 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse and Saturday they will play No. 15 Washburn at Lee Arena at 5:30 p.m.

The Mavericks are 9-7 overall and tied for sixth in the MIAA at 4-5. They won last Thursday at Southwest Baptist, 59-52 before falling Saturday at Missouri Southern, 60-57. UNO starts the week tied with two other teams for sixth.

Pittsburg State is second at 9-7 overall and 7-2 in the league while Washburn is 13-3 overall and third in the MIAA at 7-3. The Gorillas won twice last week, topping Fort Hays State and Washburn. The Lady Blues' loss to PSU was their second in a current stretch of three straight. They had opened the season on a 13-0 run before this current stretch. They'll be idle until they host UNO Saturday.

Senior guard Alyssa Green leads Nebraska-Omaha with 14.6 points a game, sixth best in the MIAA. She's second in the conference and on the team with 2.8 steals a game and the Mavericks lead the MIAA with 12.0 steals a game as a team. Freshman guard Jamie Nash is first in the conference with 3.2 a game.

Following The Mavericks
Wednesday's game at Pittsburg State will be broadcast on 90.7 KVNO FM or online at omavs.com/KVNO. Saturday's game at Washburn will be on 90.7-2 KVNO HD or online at omavs.com/kvnoHD2. Fans can find a link to live video for both games at omavs.com/LiveVideo and fans can find free live stats at omavs.com/LiveStats for Wednesday' game or at wusports.com for Saturday's game.

Most games throughout the year will be available through 90.7 KVNO FM or 90.7-2 KVNO HD. Live stats and video will be available for the remainder of the home games and many away games. Fans can find links to all live video, audio and stats through omavs.com/wbb on the schedule page.

The Coaches
UNO head coach Patty Patton Shearer is 91-68 (.572) in her sixth season with the Mavericks. She is also in her 10th year overall as a head coach with a 151-117 (.563) record. She is the school's leader in career winning percentage. Patton Shearer is a 1990 graduate of Rocky Mountain College. She played one year for the Bears after playing two years at Northern Arizona. Patton Shearer coached for four seasons at Fort Lewis before coming to UNO.

Lane Lord is 39-33 (.542) in his third season at Pittsburg State. Before that, he spent three years at Barton County CC and went 77-21. He's a 1993 graduate of Tabor College.

Ron McHenry is in his 10th season as a head coach, all with Washburn with a 254-52 (.830) record. He coached WU to a national championship in 2004-05 and he's brought the team to the NCAA tournament in each of the last eight years. He has five MIAA regular season titles and five MIAA tournament championships. McHenry is a 1984 graduate of Washburn. He played under current WU men's coach Bob Chipman and then spent 11 years as an assistant to Chipman.

The Series
- Pittsburg State leads the all-time series with UNO, 3-1. The Gorillas got all three of their wins against UNO last year.
- The Gorillas swept the regular season series and then ended UNO's season in the MIAA tournament first round.
- The Gorillas won the MIAA tournament game by two points, 81-79 and won the two regular season games by an average of 10.0 points.
- UNO's lone win in the series came in 1998-99, the only other time they played each other.
- Washburn leads the all-time series with UNO, 4-1. The Lady Blues won earlier this year, 68-47 on December 2 when they were ranked 15th in the nation.
- The Lady Blues also swept the season series last year, winning by nine at home and by two in Omaha.
- UNO's lone win came in 1985-86.

Maverick Guards Keep UNO Atop League in Steals
Freshman guard Jamie Nash leads the MIAA in steals per game with 3.2 and senior guard Alyssa Green is second with 2.8 a game. Overall, the Mavericks lead the conference with 12.0 steals a game.

UNO has had double-figure steals in 10 of its 16 games this year. The Mavs had a season-high 26 steals against Oklahoma Panhandle State and they only allowed the Lady Aggies three steals.  They have only been out-stolen by their opponents five times this year.

The Mavericks led the MIAA in steals last year with 11.00 per game and they were the only team to average in double figures. They stole the ball 10 or more times in 18 of 27 games last year and they out-stole their opponents in every game but six.

Mavs Staying In Games Despite Low Numbers
The Mavericks sit at ninth in the MIAA in scoring with 63.6 points a game and last in shooting with a .367 field goal percentage. They are able to keep a winning record by holding opponents to 58.7 points a game, the fourth lowest total in the conference, and to a .360 field goal percentage, the second lowest total.

The Mavericks are 5-1 when they shoot 40 percent or better. The lone loss came on January 9 against Central Missouri in an overtime game. Conversely, they are 4-6 when they shoot below 40 percent. The Mavs are 9-2 when their opponents shoot below 40 percent and they are 0-4 when their foes top 40 percent.

UNO is shooting 40 percent as a team in its wins and 33 percent in its losses.

Green Reaches Career Milestones
Senior guard Alyssa Green joined some exclusive clubs this year and she will look to climb up UNO's career charts as she ends her playing time with the Mavericks.

Green became just the second UNO player to score 1,000 points and get at least 300 assists and 200 steals. Kriss Edwards was the first to reach that milestone during her career from 1977-81.

Green's third free throw in the season-opener against Dana was her 1,000th career point at UNO and she now has 1,231 points to put her 11th in school history. She needs 66 points to move into the top 10.

Earlier this year she also joined the 300 assist club and the 200 steal club. She's sixth with 307 assists and 22 away from the top five. She's sixth right now with 223 steals and one away from the  top three.

Green Scoring Big For Mavericks
Alyssa Green scored 23 points against Central Missouri January 9 to give her a season high.
The point total was one off her career-high of 24 set against Pittsburg State last year. The game before that at Truman she scored 21 points and that week marked the third time she scored 20 or more in consecutive games. She did it twice as a sophomore.

Green leads the Mavs with 14.6 points a game and she's sixth in the MIAA. She's reached double figures in scoring in 14 of UNO's 16 games. Southwest Baptist and No. 9 Emporia State have been the only teams to keep her under 10 points.

Rebounds Well Distributed For UNO
Four of UNO's five starters are averaging around five rebounds a game, spreading the bulk of UNO's rebounds from right under the basket all the way out to the perimeter. Senior guard Alyssa Green leads the team with 5.2 rebounds a game and sophomore forward Heather Pohl is second with 5.1 a game. Senior forward Ashley Nelson is averaging 5.0 and freshman guard Jessica Zaruba has 4.8 a game. Freshman guard Jamie Nash, the other starter, is averaging 3.5 rebounds a game.

Pohl has led the Mavs in rebounding in five games and Nelson has led four times. Freshman forward Kiley Herold leads the bench players with 4.2 rebounds a game.

Nash Having Strong Freshman Campaign
Freshman guard Jamie Nash is putting up strong numbers in her first season with Nebraska-Omaha. She's first in the MIAA with 3.2 steals and sixth with 3.7 assists a game. Her 1.2 assist/turnover ration is seventh best in the conference. Nash has had five steals or more six times this year with a season-high of six on November 27 against Oklahoma Panhandle State.

Nash is averaging 6.6 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. She scored in double figures twice with 14 against Dana and 11 against Chadron State.

Herold Stays Close To Home, Real Close To Family
Freshman forward Kiley Herold is not only staying close to home by going to UNO. She's also staying really close to family. Her father, Bob Herold is the UNO baseball coach.

Kiley Herold is UNO's leading scorer off the bench with 85 points (5.3/game). She scored in double figures three times this year. She had 12 points in the season opener against Dana as she was 5-of-6 from the field. She added 10 points November 21 against TAMUK and she had 11 points last December 12 at Northwest Missouri with a 5-of-6 performance.

She graduated from Omaha's Millard North High School last year and earned all-Metro honors her final two years. Her senior year she was an all-state selection. November 5 at Creighton she scored five points with two rebounds before fouling out.

Bob Herold will begin his 11th season at UNO this spring. He has guided UNO to a 341-204-2 record and five straight trips to the NCAA tournament.

Pohl Scoring Big As a Sophomore
Sophomore forward Heather Pohl has started every game this year and she's averaging 9.3 points a game with seven double-figure scoring games. She scored a career-high 22 points in the season opener after never scoring more than nine as a freshman. She had 18 last week at Missouri Southern and went 5-for-9 from 3-point range. She's UNO leader from long distance with 22 made 3-pointers.

Nelson Third on Team in Scoring
Senior forward Ashley Nelson is third on the team in scoring, now with 8.9 points a game. She scored 17 at Truman on January 6 to reach double figures for the third time this year.

She was named the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association athlete of the week after her efforts over the Thanksgiving weekend. She scored 15 points against Oklahoma Panhandle State and then against Chadron State she scored 27 points. She averaged 7.0 rebounds in both games and shot 77 percent from the free throw line. That was the first honor this year for a UNO player.

Mavericks Playing 40th Season Of Basketball
- The start of the 2009-10 season marks the 40th season of women's basketball at UNO.
- The program started in 1970-71 but win-loss records are not available until the 1971-72 season.
- In those last 39 years, the Mavericks have gone 531-485 (.523) in 1,016 games.
- There have been 19 winning seasons and 23 seasons with at least a .500 record.
- The Mavericks have three North Central Conference championships in their history (1980, 1981, 1982) and they have been to the NCAA tournament three times (1982, 1987, 1992). They went to the AIAW tournament four times.

Coming Up
The Mavericks will play on the road Wednesday, January 27, at Fort Hays State in a 5:30 p.m. contest. They will be idle during the Saturday MIAA game next week.