OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha women's basketball dropped a 61-56 exhibition contest with Washburn on Wednesday evening at Baxter Arena.
Mikaela Shaw led all scorers with 19 points. Amber Vidal and Remy Davenport each chipped in nine points. Davenport and Shaw each grabbed eight rebounds, while Vidal led the team with five assists and four steals. Caroline Hogue blocked two shots.
Julie Ravn was one of three Washburn players in double figures. Ravn had 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Jayna Smith had a double-double off the bench with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Alyxis Bowens added 11 points.
The Mavericks held the Ichabads scoreless for the first 4:47 of the game as they opened on a 10-0 run. Vidal got things going with a lay-up in the paint. Davenport hit a pair of 3-pointers and Shaw made a lay-up. Washburn's Erin Dohnalek hit one of two free throws to end the UNO run. WU cut the lead to seven points at 12-5 with 2:45 left in the quarter. A Marissa Preston 3-pointer extended the Maverick lead back to double digits, 15-5. Shaw hit a pair of free throws and Vidal drained a 3-pointer to give Omaha a 20-11 lead at the end of the quarter.
Washburn cut the lead to four (20-16) after a Haley Pfau 3-pointer early in the second quarter. Omaha's Abi Lujan stemmed the run with her first field goal of the night. The Ichabad defense stepped up its pressure and held the Mavs scoreless the final 7:10 of the half to take a 26-22 lead at the half.
Omaha opened second half on an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead, 30-26. Shaw scored six of the Mavericks eight points during the run with two field goals and a pair of free throws. Washburn responded with a 7-3 run to knot the game at 33-33 with 2:45 left in the quarter. After five quick WU points, Omaha ended the third quarter with buckets from Lujan and Vidal.
Following a Kalen Phillips made free throw, Davenport knocked down a 3-pointer to give Omaha a 41-38 lead early in the fourth quarter. Dohnalek connected on a jumper in the paint to stop the Mavericks' momentum. Shaw extended the Omaha lead to four points as she was fouled on a layup and made the bonus free throw.
Washburn hit four 3-pointers in a 14-2 run to regain the lead with 3:48 left in the game, 54-46. The young Omaha team did not buckle and responded with seven quick points. Ellie Brecht cut the lead to 54-51 with her first 3-pointer of the night. Moments later, Brecht made a fast break lay-up to bring Omaha within a point, 54-53, with two minutes remaining in the game.
A Bobbi Beckwith layup and made free throw tied things at 56-56 with 90 second left. Washburn regained the lead on a Bowens' jumper and free throw. Smith tacked on a pair of free throws in the finals seconds of the game to make the final, 61-56.
Omaha wraps up the exhibition season on Sunday, Nov. 8 against Peru State. Tipoff from Baxter Arena is set for 2 p.m. Links to live stats and video streaming will be made available on OMavs.com.
