EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Omaha women's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 90-86 overtime loss at SIUE on Sunday afternoon in Edwardsville, Ill. The Mavericks fell to 7-3 on the season while the Cougars improved to 5-6 on the year.
Mikaela Shaw had her fourth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Shaw also had four assists. During the game, Shaw grabbed her 500th career rebound and is now ranked 21st all-time with 505 career boards.
Ellie Brecht and Remy Davenport each pitched in 13 points. Brecht was 4-of-5 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed four rebounds. Davenport was 5-of-10 from the floor, with three 3-pointers. She had three assists and three rebounds. Caroline Hogue added 10 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots. Amber Vidal and Marissa Preston each chipped in nine points. Preston dished out three assists, while Vidal dished out a game-high seven assists.
Shronda Butts had a game-high 30 points to lead SIUE. Butts was 10-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-4 from long range, while grabbing seven rebounds. Lauren White added 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Sydney Smith chipped in 14 points, while Gwen Adams had 12. Smith was 5-of-12 from the field, including four 3-pointers.
Omaha started the game on a 5-0 run with a 3-pointer from Shaw and a lay-up by Davenport. A 3-pointer from SIUE's Smith tied the game with 5:11 left in the first quarter, 12-12. A pair of Brecht 3-pointers helped Omaha close out the period on a 10-3 run and make the score at the end of the first quarter, 22-15.
Davenport and Preston each hit 3-pointers as UNO opened the second quarter on a 14-5 run. Vidal scored on a jumper in the paint, which was followed up by another Davenport trey to push Omaha's lead to 19 points, 41-22, with 4:07 left in the half. The Mavericks stretched their lead to 24 points coming out of the second quarter media timeout. Shaw hit her second 3-pointer of the game and Vidal sank a pair of free throws to push the lead to 48-26 with less than two minutes left in the half. SIUE closed out the period on a 5-0 to cut the lead to 17 at the break, 48-31.
Omaha maintained its big lead for most of the third quarter. Preston and Davenport each hit 3-pointers to open the second half. A 3-pointer from SIUE's Erin Kelly and a 3-point play from Butts cut Omaha's lead to 17 with 5:30 left in the period. Omaha quickly pushed its lead back to 19 with a lay-up from Sara Echelberry. SIUE's White knocked down two 3-pointers and Butts nailed another triple as the Cougars cut the Mavericks lead to single digits with 1:48 left in the quarter, 62-57. Hogue sank three free throws to push Omaha's lead back to eight points by the end of the third period, 65-57.
SIUE continued to chip away at UNO's lead as the fourth quarter started. A Donshel Beck layup cut Omaha's lead to three points, 65-62. Four straight points from Shaw pushed the UNO lead back to seven points, 69-62, with 7:05 left in regulation. SIUE cut the lead to three points on a bucket by Butts. Again Shaw would answer for Omaha and push the lead back to five. Smith hit a 3-pointer for SIUE to cut Omaha's lead to one, 75-74, with 2:52 left in the period. Butts tied the game, 77-77, with a 3-pointer only to have Vanessa Barajas give the lead right back to Omaha with a layup. White knotted the game at 79-79 with under a minute left. Following an Omaha miss with 28 seconds left in the game, SIUE had a chance for the game winner, but Moore missed a jumper as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, SIUE took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Smith. Buckets from Davenport and Barajas allowed Omaha to tie the game at 83-83 with 3:20 left in the extra period. The Cougars stretched the lead back to four points on field goal from Butts and free throws from Moore and White. Brecht hit her third 3-pointer of the game to cut the SIUE lead to one point with 1:11 left, 87-86. SIUE would make 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to secure the win, 90-86.
Omaha returns to action next week with its final two non-conference games of the season. UNO welcomes crosstown foe Creighton to Baxter Arena on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. The Mavericks wrap up non-conference play against Utah Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
