SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Three Mavericks scored in double figures, leading the Omaha women's basketball team to a 60-56 win over Illinois State on Sunday in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic at the Convocation Center in San Antonino, Texas.
Omaha finished the tournament with a 1-1 record and leaves Texas with a record of 4-2. Illinois State fell to 1-4.
UNO freshman Ellie Brecht and junior Mikaela Shaw each scored a game-high 17 points. Brecht was 6-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point land, while grabbing seven rebounds. Her 17 points and seven boards were both career bests. Shaw posted her second straight double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. For her performance over the weekend, Shaw was named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore Remy Davenport chipped in 11 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Sophomore Vanessa Barajas set a school record with nine blocked shots, while the Mavericks also broke a team record with 15 total blocks. Barajas also had four points and two rebounds.
Illinois State had three players in double-digits as well. Octavia Crump led the Redbirds with 14 points and six rebounds. Colleene Smith added 12 points and four boards, while Viria Livingston chipped in 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
Omaha had a solid shooting day by making 40 percent from the field (20-of-50) and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-18). The Mavericks were also 63.2 percent from the free throw line (12-of-19). Illinois State shot 38.7 percent from the field (24-of-62), but was limited to just 25 percent (3-of-12) from distance. The Redbirds also shot 50 percent from the free throw line (5-of-10). One area of concern is the assist (15)-to-turnover (19) ratio for the Mavericks. Illinois State had 13 assists to go along with 14 turnovers.
Shaw put Omaha on top with a 3-pointer 90 seconds into the game. A pair of Livingston free throws followed by a Crump jumper gave Illinois State its only lead of the game with 7:11 remaining in the first period, 4-3. A Brecht 3-pointer broke an 8-8 tie and propelled UNO to a 19-15 lead at the end of the quarter.
A Smith jumper to start the second quarter cut the Mavs lead to two points, 19-17. Omaha responded with a 15-2 run to push the lead to 15 points with under two minutes left in the half. Brecht scored eight straight points for the Mavs over a 1:23 span to spark the Mavs. Shaw completed a three-point play with three seconds left in the half to give UNO the lead 37-23 at the break.
Brecht and Shaw combined for 32 of Omaha's 37 points in the first half. Brecht scored all 17 of her points, while Shaw added 15. Shaw nearly completed her double-double in the half finishing with nine boards as well.
Illinois State made a game of it in the third quarter. Smith opened the half with a bucket in the paint. Following a three-pointer by UNO's Davenport, Illinois State cut the lead to eight points with 6:17 remaining. Davenport stretched the Omaha lead back to double-digits as she took a pass from Barajas for a bucket in the paint, 42-32. Illinois State continued to chip away at the lead, eventually cutting the lead to three points, 44-41, with under a minute remaining in the period. Davenport made one of two free throws to move the lead back to four, 45-41, heading into the final quarter.
A lay-up by Crump to open the final stanza cut the Omaha lead to two points, 45-43. Sophomore Marissa Preston pushed the Mavericks' lead back to six points with a pair of layups, both were assisted by Davenport. Shaw increased the UNO lead to eight by sinking a pair of free throws with 6:44 left in regulation. Illinois State held Omaha scoreless over a 4:11 span and tied the game at 53-53 with 2:33 left in the game on a bucket by Taylor Stewart. Amber Vidal briefly gave the lead back to the Mavs, before a Crump basket leveled the score with 1:51 remaining. Omaha outscored Illinois State 5-1 in the final minute. A Davenport 3-pointer along with a pair of made free throws from junior Abi Lujan with 17 seconds remaining sealed the Mavs victory, 60-56.
The Mavericks return home to start a three-game homestand starting on Thursday, Dec. 3 against UMKC. Tipoff at Baxter Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Game Notes
- Vanessa Barajas set a career high with nine blocked shots on Sunday. She broke the school record set by Taijhe Kelly last season. The nine blocked shots are also a single-game high in the Summit League so far this season and are second most in Summit League history.
- Oral Robert's Vicky McIntyre set the league record of 12.
- Omaha's 15 blocked shots broke the school record of 11 set on Tuesday against Waldorf.
- The 15 blocked shots are the most in a single game by any Summit League team this season and is tied for third in league history. The current regular season record of 16 is held by South Dakota and IUPUI.
- Mikaela Shaw had her second straight double-double and third of the season. She now has 13 double-doubles for her career. Shaw eclipsed the 800 point mark this weekend. She now has 825 career points. Shaw also has 478 career rebounds and needs 22 this season to eclipse the 500 rebound mark.
