OMAHA, Neb. – Following up on their solid season-opening home win, the Mavericks tip off a busy week on the road against North Dakota on Tuesday night in Grand Forks. Game time from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is set for 7 p.m. KZOT 1180 AM Zone 2 will carry the radio broadcast live with Jon Green calling the action. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Season and single-game tickets may be purchased online through OMavs.com/tix. Tickets also may be purchased in person at the Sapp Fieldhouse ticket office or by calling (402) 554-MAVS.
About Omaha
The new-look Mavericks opened the 2015-16 regular season with a 75-60 win over Central Florida on Saturday. The game featured three Omaha players in double digit points. Junior forward Mikaela Shaw and sophomore guard Remy Davenport led the way with 18 points each. Shaw was efficient from the field, shooting 5-for-7 (71.4-percent), and from the free throw line, going 8-for-10 (80 percent). She also grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and had four steals. Davenport hit 5 3-pointers and was 3-for-4 at the line.
Freshman guard Amber Vidal continued her solid play from the exhibition season by putting up 11 points and dishing out five assists.
Perhaps the most impressive part of Saturday's game was all nine players who appeared in the game had double digit minutes played and either scored or grabbed a rebound.
Junior transfer Abi Lujan grabbed a team-best nine rebounds. Freshman center Caroline Hogue added eight points and blocked three shots.
Maverick Notes
- Omaha's 39 three-point attempts against Central Florida set a school record, the previous mark was 33 attempts last set in 2009 against Northwest Missouri State.
- UNO won its third opener in the last four seasons and second straight.
- The attendance for Saturday's game was 846.
- The 2015-16 season marks the 46th in the history of Omaha women's basketball.
- The Mavericks return four letterwinners from the 2014-15 squad, all of whom have starting experience: senior guard Bobbi Beckwith, junior forward Mikaela Shaw, sophomore center Vanessa Barajas, and sophomore guard Remy Davenport.
- Shaw was named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Summit First Team. Last season, she earned Second Team All-Summit League honors after averaging 15.4 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Additionally, Shaw shot 46.7 percent from the field and 74.4 percent from the free throw line.
- The 2015-16 season will be Omaha's first with full NCAA Division I and Summit League postseason eligibility.
- UNO was picked seventh in this year's Summit League Preseason Poll.
North Dakota Nuggets
- North Dakota has nine newcomers on its roster.
- Senior forward Mia Loyd is the Big Sky Preseason Player of the Year.
- UND returns three starters (Makailah Dyer, Mia Loyd, Leah Szabla).
- Travis Brewster enters the season with a 50-43 overall mark in three years at the helm.
- North Dakota was picked second in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches and Media Poll.
About North Dakota
North Dakota opened the regular season with a pair of games at the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa. UND lost the season opener on Friday to No. 23 Iowa, 83-61, before dropping Saturday's game to Tennessee-Martin, 84-58.
In Friday's opener, UND trailed Iowa 33-31 at the half before the Hawkeyes scored 50 second half points for an 83-61 victory. North Dakota had three players in double-digit points led by Fallyn Freije's 14 points. Samantha Roscoe added 13 points off the bench, while Makailah Dyer had 10. UND shot 42.6 percent from the field, but only 55.6 percent from the free throw line.
In Saturday's 84-58 loss to Tennessee-Martin, North Dakota committed 26 turnovers (19 in the first half). UND won the battle of the boards 43-17. Roscoe and Dyer each tallied 12 points in the contest to lead North Dakota. Mia Loyd tallied a double-double with 11 points and 19 rebounds on the night.
Last Time Out: Central Florida
Solidified by a strong second-quarter performance, the Omaha women's basketball team began the year with a 75-60 win over Central Florida Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena. With the win, the Mavericks start the year at 1-0, while the Knights begin the season at 0-1.
The Mavericks saw eight different players contribute in points and rebounds and had four individuals sink a shot from 3-point range for a well-balanced attack. Mikaela Shaw and Remy Davenport paced UNO with 18 points each on the night. Shaw was 5-for-7 from the field and 8-for-10 at the free throw line, while Davenport went 5-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 at the line. Shaw also grabbed six boards with four steals and four assists. Davenport grabbed three boards and had two assists. Amber Vidal had 11 points in her first college game. Vidal also had a game high five assists.
Overall, the Mavericks shot 36.9 percent from the field with 10 three pointers, while the Knights shot 33.8 percent from the field with only three from beyond the arc. UCF outrebounded Omaha, 49-37, but committed 19 turnovers compared to 14 by UNO.
Omaha's Abi Lujan grabbed a team-best nine boards, while Vanessa Barajas added six boards. Caroline Hogue had eight points and blocked three shots in her first collegiate action. Fellow freshman, Ellie Brecht added nine points.
Lujan scored the first points in Baxter Arena for the women's basketball team with a pair of free throws in the third minute of play. Davenport sank the team's first 3-pointer of the year with 1:08 left in the quarter to give Omaha a one point lead, 13-12. Brecht took a pass from Davenport and drained a trey with three seconds left in the quarter to put Omaha up, 16-14.
Davenport hit back-to-back three pointers and Brecht added another to open the second quarter, sparking an increase in pace from the Mavericks. Shaw scored her first points of the game with five minutes left in the half on a lay-up. Back-to-back makes by Shaw and Marissa Preston kept the Omaha lead at five, 31-26. Six straight points from Vidal in the final two minutes of the half put Omaha up ten points. UCF hit a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to make the halftime score 40-32 in favor of Omaha.
The third quarter proved to be the game's turning point as the Mavericks stepped up their defense and found their shooting stroke. Davenport scored the first six points of the quarter on two 3-pointers. Lay-ups from Shaw and Vidal increased the Omaha lead to 18 points just two minutes into the second half, 50-32. Central Florida went on a 6-1 run to cut the Omaha lead to 12 points at the end of the quarter, 59-47.
Omaha stretched its lead back to 17 points at 64-47 on a pair of buckets from Hogue early in the fourth quarter. The Knights stepped up their pressure midway through the quarter in the hopes of making a comeback. UCF held Omaha scoreless for 2:26, while cutting the lead to nine points with 3:44 left in the game. Four straight points by Shaw brought the Mavericks lead back to 13 points with less than three minutes left to play. UCF made one last push as they cut they lead to eight points with 90 second remaining. Shaw and Davenport would not allow the comeback attempt to be successful as they combined for final seven points of the game.
Meeting the Mavericks
Omaha returns four letterwinners from last season and all four have starting experience. There will be 11 new faces on the UNO bench as well with six freshmen and five transfers joining the roster.
The Mavericks return their top two scorers from last season in forward Mikaela Shaw and guard Remy Davenport. Shaw, a junior, earned Preseason First Team All-Summit League honors by averaging 15.4 points per game and 8.7 rebounds. She is also the top rebounder and second leading scorer returning in the Summit League. Davenport, a sophomore sharp shooter, averaged 9.2 ppg and 2.8 rpg last season. Davenport connected on 34.6 percent of her 3-point shots last year.
Vanessa Barajas and Bobbi Beckwith were part-time starters last season for the Mavs. As a freshman, Barajas averaged 1.8 ppg and 1.0 rpg. She also blocked 10 shots. Beckwith sat out the first half of last season per NCAA transfer rules, appeared in 16 games with three starts last season. She averaged 3.6 ppg and 2.2 rpg.
Newcomers Ready to Shine
Ellie Brecht, Jay Bridgeman, Sara Echelberry, Caroline Hogue, Kalen Phillips and Amber Vidal all look to make an impact in their first collegiate season.
Hogue was one of the premier shot blockers in high school hoops during her prep career. She finished with 933 career blocked shots, which is an Arkansas state record and ranks second all-time nationally.
As a senior, Vidal led O'Connor High School (San Antonio, Tex.) with 101 assists and 82 steals, while averaging 17.9 points per game. She was also named the District 27-6A Most Valuable Player. Hogue and Vidal were named nominees for the 2015 McDonald's All-American game.
As a senior, Brecht was a repeat first-team all-state selection from Sioux Falls Lincoln High School. She averaged 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Bridgeman led Westside High School to the Nebraska Class A state title and averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a senior. She was named captain of the Nebraska All-State Basketball team.
Echelberry averaged 15.4 pts, 8.0 rebounds and 2 blocked shots as a senior at Conway Springs High School (Kan.).
Phillips, a guard from South Jones High School in Ellisville, Miss., was ranked a 3-star recruit on ESPN. During her senior season, she averaged 19.0 points, 7.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 4.9 steals, and 2.0 blocks per game.
Infusion of Transfers
Michaela Dapprich, Moriah Dapprich, Abi Lujan, Marissa Preston, and Courtney Vaccher will add valuable experience to a young Maverick squad. Michaela Dapprich, Moriah Dapprich, and Courtney Vaccher will have to sit out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules, but will be valuable assets on the scout team this year.
The Dapprich sisters spent last season at Wichita State, while Vaccher was a member of the Texas Tech team.
Lujan spent the past two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College. She averaged 6.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in her sophomore year and was named to the Region 9 All-Defensive team.
Preston joined the Mavericks last season from Wichita State, but had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules. In her one season with the Shockers, she played in 26 games and started one and averaged 2.3 points in 9.9 minutes per game.
Series History
Tuesday night is the 55th all-time meeting between Omaha and North Dakota. UND leads the all-time series with UNO, 46-8. The last win by UNO was during the 2004-05 season, 77-72.
Last season, UND defeated the Mavericks at Sapp Field House, 72-52, on Nov. 26. Mikaela Shaw had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds for UNO.
Up Next
Following Tuesday's game, Omaha hits the road traveling to Indiana State Saturday, Nov. 21. Tipoff in Terre Haute is set for 7:05 p.m. with the game available on ESPN3 (subscription required). Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
