GRAND FORKS, North Dakota – The Omaha women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season to North Dakota 67-52, on Tuesday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UNO dropped to 1-1 on the season, while UND improved to 1-2 overall.
The Mavericks were led by Mikaela Shaw who scored a team-high 19 points while Remy Davenport and Amber Vidal each chipped in nine. Shaw and Davenport each grabbed six rebounds, while Vidal dished out five assists. Caroline Hogue added seven points, three steals, and a blocked shot off the bench.
Omaha was held to 37.5 percent shooting (21-for-56) from the floor, while North Dakota shot 39.6 percent (21-for-53). The Mavs were only 28.6 percent (4-for-14) from the 3-point line, while UND shot 36.4 percent (4-for-11) from deep. North Dakota shot 72.4 percent (21-for-29) from the free throw line, while Omaha was at 50 percent (6-for-12).
The host school dominated the Mavericks on the boards, 41-23. UND cleaned up on the defensive end with 30 boards compared to only 18 by UNO. Omaha forced North Dakota into 20 turnovers, while only committing 12.
The two teams were tied through the first three minutes of action until Davenport hit back-to-back three pointers to give Omaha the lead, 10-4. Hogue put the Mavs up by five midway through the quarter, 12-7. North Dakota's Fallyn Freije scored six straight points to cut the lead to just one with two minutes left in the period, 12-11. A Marissa Preston lay-up followed by a pair of Shaw free throws closed out the quarter and gave UNO the lead, 16-11.
North Dakota opened the second quarter with a quick 4-0 run to cut the lead to one before an Amber Vidal jumper stopped the momentum. UND went on a 10-0 run over the next 4:45 to take a 25-18 lead. Omaha held North Dakota scoreless the final 2:32 of the half, but could only muster a Shaw jumper. UNO trailed at the half, 25-21.
The home side increased its lead to seven with a three pointer to start the second half, 28-21. Omaha responded with a 9-2 run led by baskets from Abi Lujan, Vanessa Barajas, Shaw and Vidal to tie the game at 30-30 with 6:19 left in the third quarter. Two Hogue lay-ups would bring Omaha to within one point, 37-36, with 3:07 remaining. UND would keep UNO scoreless the remainder of the quarter and stretch its lead to 11 points, 47-36.
Omaha saw the North Dakota lead grow to 14 points two minutes into the fourth quarter. A Shaw lay-up followed by a made free throw from Hogue and 3-pointer from Vidal whittled the UND lead to eight points, 53-45, with 3:51 left in the game. North Dakota quickly increased its lead back to double-digits with an 8-2 run, 61-47. Five quick points from Shaw brought Omaha to within nine with under a minute left, but the hosts would knock down six straight free throws to end the game.
Omaha returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Indiana State. Game time in Terre Haute is set for 6:05 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on ESPN3. Links to the Omaha radio broadcast and live stats will be available on OMavs.com. UNO will return to Baxter Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 24 against Waldorf College at 7 p.m.
