OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team looks to keep things rolling when they travel to SIU-E on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 13.  Tip off in Edwardsville, Ill. is slated for 2 p.m. and Jon Green will have the call on 1180 AM Zone 2.  Links to live stats, audio and video will be 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.

Maverick Breakdown

Omaha made it four straight wins with a 58-53 win over Midland on Wednesday afternoon.  The Mavericks enter the game with a 7-2 record. UNO is off to its best start since the 2012-13 season when they began the season 9-2.

Offensively, junior forward Mikaela Shaw is leading the charge for the Mavericks with 17.9 points per game, which leads the Summit League.  Shaw is shooting 53.9 percent from the field, marking the fifth best field goal percentage among conference players.  The Deweese, Neb. native leads the team in rebounds (7.2 rpg), assists (3.6 apg), and steals (1.7 spg).  Shaw ranks fourth in the league in rebounding, fifth in assists, and sixth in steals.  This season she has had three double-doubles and scored a Summit League-best 31 points against Eastern Illinois.

Sophomore guard Remy Davenport averages 8.8 points and two made 3-pointers per game. Freshman guard Amber Vidal averages 7.2 points per game and 3.2 assists per game.  A pair of freshmen round out UNO's top five scorers.  Guard Ellie Brecht averaged 7.1 points per game and averages 1.9 three-pointers made per game.  Center Caroline Hogue adds 6.8 points per game and 2.4 blocks per game.  Hogue leads the Summit League in blocked shots this season.  Junior Abi Lujan averages 6.8 rebounds per game.

The Mavericks are one of the top defensive teams in the Summit League.  Omaha is limiting the opponents to only 54.6 points per game, which leads the league.  They limit the opposition to a field goal percentage of 34.4 percent (182-529), also a tops in the league, and 25.4 percent (30-121) from 3-point range (second in the league). As a team, they also lead the league with 5.8 blocked shots per game.

Behind the Numbers

118 – Number of points needed by Mikaela Shaw to reach 1,000 career points.

5 – Number of rebounds needed by Shaw to reach 500 career boards.

52 – Blocked shots this season by Omaha.

38 – Total points scored by Shaw, Ellie Brecht and Caroline Hogue on Wednesday evening.

15 – Total number of blocked shots against Illinois State.  This set a school record and is tops in the league this season.

32 – Rebounds grabbed by Abi Lujan over the past three games.

11 – Blocked shots by Caroline Hogue over the past three games.

Catching Up with the Cougars (last game)

• SIU-E handed Saint Louis its first loss of the season on Monday, 71-64.
• CoCo Moore led the Cougars in points (21) and rebounds (9).
• Shronda Butts dished out five assists in the win over SLU.
• The Cougars shot 48 percent (24-50) from the field, but 14.3 percent (1-7) from 3-point distance.  They also shot 64.7 percent (22-34) at the line.
• The two teams combined for 37 turnovers (17 for SIU-E).
• Saint Louis won the rebounding battle, 37-33, but SIU-E dominated the scoring in the paint, 44-28.

Scouting SIU-E

SIU-E is currently 4-6 on the year and has won three of their last five games.  The Cougars are 2-1 at the Vadalabene Center this season with wins over Northern Illinois and Saint Louis.

The Cougars were selected as the preseason favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference by a vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.  Shronda Butts was named the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year. She averaged 15.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season.

Butts averages 18.7 points per game this season to lead SIU-E.  She also averages 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.  Coco Moore averages 11.3 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game.  Donshel Beck averages 8.7 boards per game and 9.9 per game.

Series History

• Omaha and SIU-E meet for the third time in program history.
• SIU-E leads the series, 2-0.

SIU-E Series Facts (Cougars lead, 2-0)

11/27/92          H                     L, 66-69

12/14/14          H                     L, 54-69

Newcomers Making Noise

This season, the Mavericks roster features five freshmen and eight underclassmen, with underclassmen accounting for 1151 minutes (63.9%), 366 points (63.4%), 155 rebounds (47.8%), 70 assists (57.4 %), 34 steals (49.3%), and 48 blocks (92.3%).  Among the group, freshmen make up 581 minutes (32.3%), 211 points (36.6%), 91 rebounds (28.1%), 43 assists (35.2%), 18 steals (26.1%), and 27 blocks (51.9%). 

NCAA Stat Rankings – Team

• Omaha ranks 8^th nationally in blocked shots (52) and 23^rd nationally in blocked shots per game (5.8).  Morehead State is the national leader with 68 blocks, while Oregon State leads the nation with 8.3 blocks per game.
• UNO ranks 35^th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (34.3 percent).  Alabama leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense (30.1 percent).
• The Mavericks also are ranked 31^st nationally in scoring defense allowing only 54.6 points per game.  Mississippi State is the national leader in scoring defense (41.9 points per game).
• The Mavs are also nationally ranked in 3-point field goal defense (33^rd – 25.4 percent) and turnovers per game (26^th – 13.1 turnovers per game).

NCAA Stat Rankings – Individual

• Caroline Hogue and Vanessa Barajas both are in the Top 50 in blocked shots.  Hogue ranks 19^th nationally in blocked shots (22) and 38^th in blocks per game (2.44).  Barajas is 47^th nationally in blocks (17).
• Mikaela Shaw is 24^th nationally in field goals made (62) and 61^st nationally in field-goal percentage (53.9%).
• Shaw ranks 34^th nationally in total points (161) and 31^st in free throws attempted (51).

Block Party

Omaha has been on a record pace this season blocking shots.  The Mavericks currently lead the Summit League with 52 blocks and average 5.8 blocks a game. UNO has three players that rank in the top 15 in the league standings this season.  Caroline Hogue leads the way with 22 rejections and averages 3.4 per game.  Vanessa Barajas is next with 17 blocks and averages 1.9 per game.  Sara Echelberry is 12^th in the league with 4 blocks.

The Mavericks blocked 11 shots against Waldorf on Nov. 24.  Less than a week later, UNO swatted a team record 15 shots against Illinois State at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas.  The block totals are the top two team performances in the Summit League this season.

So far this season, the Mavericks have blocked at least four shots in six of their eight games.  The program record for blocks in a season is 142 set last season.  At this rate, Omaha will break that record late in the season.

Blocking the Summit

Caroline Hogue and Vanessa Barajas rank number one and two in blocked shots in the latest Summit League rankings.  Sara Echelberry is 12^th with four blocks.  Hogue averages 2.4 blocks per game, while Barajas is second at 1.9 blocks per game. 

Against Southern Illinois, Barajas set a single-game team record with nine blocked shots.  Her nine blocks are the most in the Summit League this season.  Hogue set a career-high with five blocked shots against Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

Up Next

Omaha will play two more non-conference games in December before kicking off the Summit League schedule on Dec. 30.

The Mavericks welcome crosstown foe Creighton to the Baxter Arena on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.  Omaha wraps up the non-conference portion of its season on Tuesday, Dec. 22 against Utah Valley.  Tipoff against the Wolverines is set for 2 p.m.

Noteworthy Performances – Individual

• Mikaela Shaw scored a season high 31 points against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.  Shaw was 13-of-21 from the field.  She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.
• Shaw has had three double-doubles this season (Indiana State, Houston Baptist, and Illinois State).
• Amber Vidal went for a career-best 20 points on Dec. 3 against UMKC.
• Abi Lujan grabbed 12 rebounds in two straight games to start December.  The junior pulled down 12 boards against UMKC on Dec. 3 and followed that up with 12 more against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.
• Vanessa Barajas blocked nine shots against Illinois State on Nov. 29 to set a program record.
• Caroline Hogue set a career-best in points against Midland (12).  Hogue also set a career-record in rebounds against Waldorf (12) and blocks against Eastern Illinois (5).
• Ellie Brecht went for 17 points against Illinois State on Nov. 29.  Brecht was 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line and also pulled down a career best seven rebounds.

Noteworthy Performances – Team

• Omaha set a program record with 39 3-point attempts in the season opener against Central Florida.  The Mavericks connected on 10 of those attempts.
• UNO went for 95 points against Waldorf in late November.  Omaha shot 53.9 percent (41-76) from the floor.
• The Mavericks set a program record with 15 blocked shots against Illinois State on Nov. 29.
• Omaha had a season low four turnovers against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.

Davenport from Deep

Remy Davenport nailed a pair of crucial free throws with eight seconds left in Wednesday's game sealed Omaha's 58-53 win.  Davenport made only two baskets from the field, but both were from 3-point distance.  The sophomore sharp-shooter now has hit at least one trey in 28 straight games for the Mavericks dating back to Dec. 14, 2014. 

Davenport now has 80 career 3-pointers, which ranks her 13th on the all-time charts through 37 games.  Jennifer Mitchell, a Maverick from 1998-2002, tops the all-time list with 214 career makes.

Home Cookin'

The Omaha women's basketball team is a perfect 5-0 at their new home this year, Baxter Arena.  In those games, UNO has outscored its opponents by 104 points, 363-254.  At home, the Mavericks shoot 44.6 percent (139-312) and hold their opponents to 31.4 percent (92-293).