OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha looks to bounce back from a mid-week loss at North Dakota as it takes on Indiana State on Saturday evening in the Mavericks' second straight road game.
Game time from the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind. is set for 6:05 p.m. (CT). The Zone 1620 AM will carry the radio broadcast live with Jon Green calling the action. The game will also be shown live on ESPN3 with links to live stats, audio and video 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
Omaha wraps up a quick two game road stretch on Saturday evening in Terre Haute, Ind. On the first leg of their trip, the Mavericks lost at North Dakota, 67-52. Overall, UNO is 1-1 in the early stages of the season.
Mikaela Shaw leads the Omaha offense early in the season. Shaw, a preseason first team All-Summit League selection, is averaging 18.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Remy Davenport is next on the team averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game . Amber Vidal, a freshman point guard, is chipping in 10.0 points and 5.0 assists per game. Abi Lujan averages 6.0 rebounds per game this season, while Caroline Hogue averages 2.0 blocks per game.
The Mavericks shoot at a 37.2 percent clip from the field this season, but just 26.4 percent from 3-point land. UNO set a school record in the season opener against Central Florida with 39 attempted 3-point shots. The Mavs have been outrebounded in the first two games this year, 90-60. Omaha owns a +6.5 turnover margin this season. The Mavs have forced 39 giveaways, while committing only 26.
Maverick Notes
- UNO has used the same starting line-up in both games this season.
- 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.
- The 2015-16 season marks the 46th in the history of Omaha women's basketball.
- The Mavericks return four letter winners 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.
Sycamore Snippets
- Indiana State upended Eastern Illinois on Thursday evening in its home opener, 60-42.
- The Sycamores had three players in double figures, including a double-double from forward Joyea Marshall.
- Marshall had 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Panthers, which was her second straight double-double this season.
- Cierra Ceazar and Thagen Smith each added 10 points. Smith grabbed nine rebounds as well.
- Indiana State as a team shot 41.7 percent from the floor while going 75.0 percent from the free throw line. They also out-rebounded their opponent, 48-33.
- ISU is 131-43 at the Hulman Center over the past 12 seasons, but had a 7-6 mark last year.
Information on Indiana State
After Thursday evenings win over Eastern Illinois, Indiana State is 1-2 on the season. The Sycamores were selected to finish seventh in the annual preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll. Last season, ISU was 17-13 overall and 7-11 in the Valley (sixth place).
Eight players return for Indiana State this season, highlighted by redshirt senior guard Cierra Ceazer and redshirt junior Joyea Marshall. Senior guard Alexis Newbolt will lead the back court while redshirt junior forward Kelsey Dirks and junior forward Rhagen Smith lead the front court.
To round out the roster, ISU brought in seven newcomers this season, including five freshmen and two transfers. The freshmen include Kiera Brooks, Jessica Mackowiak, Jennifer Mackowiak, Tierra Webb and Regan Wentland. Transfers Ashley Taia and Brooklyn Artis will both enter as redshirt sophomores.
So far this season, Marshall leads the team with 14.0 ppg and 8.7 rpg, while Ceazer averages 14.0 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Taia chips in 9.0 ppg. Jennifer Mackowiak made her first three collegiate starts for Indiana State to open the 2015-16 season. The freshman guard took over primary point guard duties and has 15 assists this season. Mackowiak's twin sister, Jessica, is also on the ISU roster this season.
Head coach Joey Wells is in his second year leading the Indiana State program.
Series History
Saturday evening's meeting will be the first between the two programs.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home on Tuesday, Nov. 24 to face Waldorf (IA). This will be the first time the two teams have played each other.
The Zone 2 1180 AM KZOT will carry the radio broadcast live with Jon Green calling the action. Links to live stats, audio and video available on OMavs.com.
Did You Know?
- Freshmen Kalen Phillips and Sara Echelberry made their regular season debuts against North Dakota on Tuesday evening.
- Junior Mikaela Shaw scored 19 points against North Dakota. It was the 19th time in her career scoring 17 or more points.
- Freshman Amber Vidal is averaging five assists per game this season.
- Omaha has made at least one 3-pointer in 58 straight games. The last time the Mavericks were held without a made 3-pointer was against South Dakota on Feb. 28, 2013.
- Remy Davenport has made at least one 3-pointer in 21 straight games dating back to Dec. 11, 2014 against Bakersfield.
Meet the Mavs
Omaha returns four letter winners 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.
