SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Despite a 33-26 lead at halftime, the Omaha women's basketball team dropped a 64-51 contest to Houston Baptist Friday afternoon at the Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas. Omaha is now 3-2 on the year, while Houston Baptist improved to 2-2.
Mikaela Shaw led all scorers with 19 points. Shaw grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists. It was the second double-double of the season for Shaw. Remy Davenport added nine points and Vanessa Barajas chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Ellie Brecht also had five points and four boards.
Houston Baptist's Anna Strickland had a double-double of her own. Strickland had 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rachel Arthur added 15 points and four rebounds and Monet Neal chipped in 13 points and six boards.
Omaha was limited to 38.3 percent shooting for the game (18-of-47), while Houston Baptist shot 41.2 percent (28-of-68). UNO hit 68.4 percent of its free throws (13-of-19), while HBU was only 40.0 percent (6-of15). The Mavericks lost the rebounding battle 41-34, including an 18-7 margin on the offensive glass. Omaha also turned the ball over 20 times compared to 10 turnovers by Houston Baptist.
Strickland opened the game with a basket for Houston Baptist. Omaha responded with baskets from Shaw, Barajas, and Amber Vidal to take a 6-2 lead with 5:55 left in the quarter. Bobbi Beckwith found Brecht in the corner for a 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining to give the Mavericks a 12-6 lead. HBU's Lisa Zderadicka cut the lead to four points with a bucket. Omaha led at the end of the first quarter, 12-8.
The Mavericks extended the lead to eight points in the opening minute of the second quarter, 16-8. Shaw and Abi Lujan each hit jumpers in the paint to spur Omaha's lead. The Huskies responded with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 18-16 with 6:09 left in the half. Barajas hit a pair of free throws followed up by a lay-up extended the Mavs lead to five points, 21-16. Strickland and Neal each scored buckets to bring HBU to within one point, 21-20, with 5:20 left in the period. Omaha closed the half out on a 12-6 run. Remy Davenport led the Mavericks during the run with five points on a jumper and a 3-pointer as Omaha took a 33-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
Houston Baptist came out of the break on fire hitting four of its first five shots as it erased a seven point deficit. A Neal layup with 7:05 left in the third quarter gave the Huskies a one point lead, 38-37. A second layup by Neal increased the lead to three points, 40-37, with 5:38 remaining in the period. Shaw made two free throws followed by a made bucket and free throw from Barajas put Omaha back on top, 44-43, with under two minutes left. Zderadicka banked in a three point shot as the quarter ended for a 48-44 Houston Baptist lead.
Shaw opened up the final period with a three point play to bring the HBU lead back to one, but that was as close as Omaha would get. The Huskies limited the Mavericks to only two made field goals, both by Shaw, in the final stanza. A pair of Lujan free throws brought the Mavericks to within nine points, 60-51, with less than two minutes remaining. Houston Baptist would hold Omaha scoreless the final 1:50 of the game. The Huskies scored the game's final four points for a 64-51 victory.
Omaha will return to action on Sunday afternoon against Illinois State at 12 p.m. in the final game of the UTSE Thanksgiving Classic. Links to live stats and radio broadcast will be available at OMavs.com.
