OMAHA, Neb. – Sophomore Marissa Preston had a career-high 21 points and dished out four assists to lead the Omaha women's basketball team to a dominant win, 97-32 over Waldorf on Tuesday night at Baxter Arena.
Omaha improved to 3-1 on the season, while Waldorf is 1-4 overall.
Junior Mikaela Shaw scored 17 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Freshman Ellie Brecht added 10 points and freshman Kalen Phillips had 9 as Omaha scored over 95 points for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
Molly Greenfield and Samantha Birkes each had six points for Waldorf.
Omaha shot 53.9 percent from the field (41-of-76) and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-21). The Maverick defense limited Waldorf to 15.2 percent from the field (10-of-66) and 17.4 percent from deep (4-of-23). UNO won the rebounding battle, 57-38, and set a school record with 11 blocked shots. They also turned the ball over 11 times compared to 18 by Waldorf.
Remy Davenport gave Omaha the lead with her first of three 3-pointers in the game. From there, the Mavericks never looked back as they raced out to a 28-4 lead and limited Waldorf to just one field goal from the field. Abi Lujan scored four quick points to give Omaha its first double-digit lead of the night, 11-3. Shaw would score 8 points and was 4-of-4 in the quarter. Preston capped off the UNO offensive onslaught with a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the period.
Preston opened the second quarter with a lay-up in the paint. Brecht put the Mavericks up by 29 points with a 3-pointer with 8:05 left in the half. Another three pointer from Davenport pushed the Omaha lead to 35 midway through the period, 41-6. Brecht drained her second trey of the period as the Mavericks went into the half with a 50-12 lead.
The Mavericks opened the second half with a 5-2 run. Davenport drained a 3-pointer to push the lead above 40 for the first time, 57-14. Caroline Hogue scored her first points of the game with a jumper with 6:08 left in the period. Phillips rounded out the Omaha scoring in the period with a layup. After three quarters, the Mavericks led Waldorf, 66-23.
UNO outscored Waldorf 31-9 in the final quarter. Vanessa Barajas scored three quick points with a jumper and by making one of two free throws. Amber Vidal set Shaw up for a layup with 8:11 left in the game that pushed the Omaha lead to 50 for the first time, 73-23. Brecht and Sara Echelberry scored back-to-back baskets as the Mavericks crept closer to the 80 point threshold, 77-27. A Bobbi Beckwith bucket followed by a Preston 3-pointer put Omaha over the 80 mark for the first time this season. The Mavericks ended the game with a 15-2 run highlighted by Hogue's first career 3-pointer and five quick points from Phillips. UNO ended the game with their largest margin of victory of the year, 97-32.
Next, the Mavericks will head to Texas for the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio this weekend. They will play Houston Baptist Friday at 2 p.m. and Illinois State on Sunday at noon. Links to live stats and audio can be found at OMavs.com.
