MACOMB, Ill. - The Omaha women's basketball team dropped its Summit League road opener to Western Illinois, 71-56, on Sunday afternoon in Macomb, Ill. The Mavericks are now 5-9 overall and 0-2 in Summit League play, while the Leathernecks improve to 10-5 on the season and 2-0 in conference.
Omaha had three players in double digits on Sunday afternoon. Freshman guard Remy Davenport scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Mavericks. Davenport was 5-for-13 from the field, including three 3-pointers.
Mikaela Shaw scored 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting from the field. Shaw grabbed five rebounds, blocked one shot, and had one steal. Bobbi Beckwith added 11 points, four rebounds, and a steal.
Senior guard Lanese Bough had a career high 12 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Bough chipped in six points and four assists. Senior center Taijhe Kelly had two points to go along with nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Western Illinois' Ashley Luke, the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, had a double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Luke also dished out five assists and had a blocked shot. Michelle Farrow had 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Tori Niemann added 14 points and six rebounds.
Omaha took an early 4-1 lead on buckets by Bough and Brianna Bogard. A jumper from Luke and a 3-pointer from Liz Skotowski put Western Illinois up 6-4. Bogard tied the game at 6-6 with a pair of free throws with 16:07 left in the half. Western Illinois extended the lead to 12-6 over the next 3:07. Omaha cut the lead to 12-11 on a 3-pointer from Davenport and a lay-up from Bough.
However, the Leathernecks responded with a 23-8 run to go up 35-19 by the 3:30 mark capped off by a Michelle Farrow 3-pointer. A Beckwith lay-up and free throw cut the Western Illinois lead to 35-22 at halftime.
The Mavs opened the second half with two quick buckets to cut the lead to 35-26 with 17:38 remaining. The Leathernecks pushed the lead back to 15 points with 14:43 on a jumper by Luke.
Davenport would hit a pair of free throws followed by a 3-pointer to close the gap to 48-40 with 12:21 left in the half. Western Illinois responded to the Omaha run by pushing the lead back to 12 points with 7:27 left.
The Mavericks made one last push to cut into the Leathernecks' lead. Beckwith scored five straight points for Omaha to cut the lead to seven points, 55-48, with 6:01 left in regulation.
Western Illinois closed the game on a 16-8 run to seal the win, 71-56.
The Mavs shot 30.9 percent (21-of-68) overall and just 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from 3-point range. The Mavs were solid from the free throw line, hitting 10-of-13 (76.9 percent). Western Illinois shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor and 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from 3-point range. The Leathernecks were 19-of-25 from the free throw line (76.0 percent).
Omaha returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 8 against the University of Denver. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (CT) from the Magness Center in Denver, Colo.
