Complete Game Notes

Just two games separate Nebraska-Omaha, tied for seventh in the MIAA, from its opponent Wednesday, the third-place Central Missouri Jennies. The Mavericks will look to gain ground on the Jennies and distance themselves from the bottom of the conference as they play UCM Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose Building. They'll then return home to host Southwest Baptist Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Sapp Fieldhouse.

That game will be Senior Day as UNO's four seniors will be honored before the game. Alyssa Green, Ashley Nelson, Kylee Rinehart and Autralius Sanders all have just two home games remaining on their schedule.

Nebraska-Omaha (12-11, 7-9 MIAA) split a pair of games last week. The Mavs won at Missouri Western on Wednesday and then fell at home to Truman on Saturday. Central Missouri split a pair of games on the road. The Jennies (13-10, 9-7 MIAA) fell at Washburn on Wednesday and then topped Fort Hays State on Saturday and they are tied with Pittsburg State for third in the league. Southwest Baptist is 6-17 and 4-12 in the MIAA. The Bearcats were swept in a road trip through Emporia State last Thursday and Washburn last Saturday to fall further out of contention for the MIAA tournament. They're currently 10th in the league and three games behind the Mavs in the standings.

Green leads UNO in scoring with 14.8 points a game and she enters the week sixth in the MIAA in scoring. She and freshman guard Jamie Nash remain the top two ball stealers in the league and UNO remains atop the conference in steals with 11.2 a game.

Following The Mavericks
Wednesday's game at Central Missouri will be broadcast on 90.7 KVNO FM and online at omavs.com/KVNO. Saturday's game against Southwest Baptist will be broadcast on 90.7-2 KVNO HD and 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 www.ucmo.edu/athletics for Wednesday' game and at omavs.com/LiveStats 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 94-72 (.566) in her sixth season with the Mavericks. She is also in her 10th year overall as a head coach with a 154-121(.560) 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.

Central Missouri coach Dave Slifer is 103-67 (.606) in his sixth year at Central Missouri and 492-173 (.740) in his 20th season overall. He went 205-69 in nine seasons at Missouri Western and 178-30 in six seasons at Mount Mercy College, his alma mater where he graduated in 1982.

J.C. Carter is in his second year coaching Southwest Baptist with a 14-37 (.275) record. Prior to taking that job, he was an assistant with the SBU men during the 2007-08 season. He also assisted men's teams at Texas-Pan American and California State-Northridge. He's a 2003 graduate of SBU.

The Series
- The all-time series against UCM is tied at 10-10. Each team won its home game last year and then the Jennies won at UNO in overtime earlier this year.
- The Mavericks won by 21 points at home and then lost by just four on the road last year.
- Prior to last year's win, the Mavs had lost five straight against UCM in the series.
- UNO leads the all-time series against Southwest Baptist, 4-2 after the Mavs swept both games against the Bearcats last year and won on the road earlier this year.
- The series began in 1994-95 and they played three times in the 1990s.

Maverick Guards Keep UNO Atop League in Steals, Forced Turnovers
Freshman guard Jamie Nash leads the MIAA in steals per game with 3.3 and senior guard Alyssa Green is second with 2.4 a game. Overall, the Mavericks lead the conference with 11.2 steals a game.

UNO has had double-figure steals in 14 of its 22 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 seven times this year.

The Mavericks also lead the MIAA in forced turnovers, getting their opponents to give the ball away 21.6 times a game. Despite having  an inflated turnover average of 19.0 a game themselves, the Mavericks are second in the conference in turnover margin at +2.52 overall. Their opponents have committed 20 or more turnovers 14 times.

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.

Cutting It Close
Nine of UNO's last 10 games have been decided by 10 points or less and the Mavs are 4-5 in those games. Last week they topped Missouri Western by three points on the road then fell by seven to Truman at home.
Overall, the Mavs are 8-6 in games decided by 10 points or less and 2-2 in games decided by five or less.

Mavs Staying In Games Despite Low Numbers
The Mavericks sit at ninth in the MIAA in scoring with 64.1 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 62.0 points a game, the fourth lowest total in the conference, and to a .369 field goal percentage, the third lowest total.

The Mavericks are 5-2 when they shoot 40 percent or better. The lone losses came on January 9 against Central Missouri in an overtime game and at ESU when they shot 47 percent, their highest effort since the season opener. Conversely, they are 7-9 when they shoot below 40 percent. The Mavs are 12-4 when their opponents shoot below 40 percent and they are 0-7 when their foes shoot 40 percent or better.
UNO is shooting 39 percent as a team in its wins and 34 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 1,337 points to put her eighth in school history.

Earlier this year she also joined the 300 assist club and the 200 steal club. She's fifth with 332 assists and she's third right now with 233 steals.

Green Scoring Big For Mavericks
Senior guard Alyssa Green is first on the team and sixth in the MIAA averaging 14.8 point a game. She's reached double figures in scoring in eight straight games and overall, she's done so in all but two games.

Green actually shoots and scores better on the road than at home. In UNO's eight road games she's averaging 15.4 points a game and shooting 46 percent. At home, she averages 14.9 points a game and shoots 36 percent. Overall, she's a 39 percent shooter.

Green scored 23 points at home 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.

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. Forwards Ashley Nelson and Heather Pohl lead UNO with 5.3 rebounds a game each and senior guard Alyssa Green is second with 4.9 a game. Freshman guard Jessica Zaruba has 4.6 a game. Freshman guard Jamie Nash, the other starter, is averaging 3.4 rebounds a game.

Freshman forward Kiley Herold leads the bench players with 3.7 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 3.3 steals and seventh with 3.2 assists a game. Her 1.0 assist/turnover ration is 10th best in the conference. Nash has had five steals or more 10 times this year with a season-high of seven January 27 against Fort Hays State. Nash has led the team in assists 12 times this year and UNO is 8-4 when she does so.

Nash is averaging 7.0 points and 3.4 rebounds a game. She's scored in double figures four times this year with a season-high 15 against Pittsburg State on January 20.

Pohl Scoring Big As a Sophomore
Sophomore forward Heather Pohl tied a season high with 22 points January 27 at Fort Hays State and she's reached double figures in four of the last five games to bump her season average above double figures. She's averaging 10.3 a game to make her UNO's second double figure scorer. In the last six she's averaging 14.2 a game and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.

Pohl has made a 3-pointer in 10 straight games and she's averaging 2.8 makes a game during that stretch. Overall, she averages 1.7 makes a game.

Pohl is averaging 13.1 points a game in UNO's road games and 11.1 a game in UNO's 16 MIAA games.

Nelson Third on Team in Scoring
Senior forward Ashley Nelson is third on the team in scoring with 9.2 points a game. She scored in double figures in four of the last six games to give her seven total double-figure scoring games.

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.

Nelson leads the team with 39 total blocks and she's third in the MIAA with 1.7 per game. She's blocked at least one shot in all but three games this year and she tied a school record with seven on January 16 at Missouri Southern.

Mavericks Playing 40th Season Of Basketball
- The start of the 2009-10 season marked 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 534-489 (.523) in 1,021 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 host Missouri Southern on Thursday, February 25, in their final home game and then wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 27, on the road against Pittsburg State.

The MIAA postseason tournament seedings and game times will be announced on February 27 after the final games are played.