OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team opens a four game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 20 against crosstown foe Creighton.  Tipoff at Baxter Arena is set for 8 p.m.  The Mavericks wrap-up non-conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 22 with an afternoon matinee against Utah Valley.  Game time at Baxter Arena is 2 p.m.

Jon Green will have the call of both games 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 is looking to shake off last weekend's 90-86 overtime loss at SIUE.  The loss snapped the Mavericks modest four game winning streak.  Omaha is now 7-3 overall, including a perfect 5-0 mark at Baxter Arena.

Mikaela Shaw continues to lead the Mavericks offensively this season.  The junior forward currently leads the team in scoring (18.7 points per game), rebounds (7.5 rebounds per game), assists (3.6 assists per game), steals (1.6 steals per game), and field goal percentage (54.5 percent).  Shaw ranks first in the Summit League in scoring, fourth in rebounds, and fifth in assists.  Shaw gabbed her 500^th career rebound in a Maverick uniform in Sunday's loss at SIUE.

Remy Davenport averages 9.2 points per game and is second on the team in scoring.  The sophomore shooting guard has connected on 21-of-59 three-pointers this season.  Davenport also averages 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Three freshmen round out the top five scorers for the Mavericks.  Ellie Brecht, Amber Vidal, and Caroline Hogue all average over seven points per game.  The trio earn their points in different ways.  Brecht is a 3-point specialist who averages 7.7 points per game.  The freshman is 20-of-44 from long distance so far this season.  Vidal is a threat to drive or to shoot from the outside.  The guard averages 7.4 points per game.  She is tied with Shaw for the team lead in assists.  Hogue is a presence in the paint and averages 7.1 points per game.  She currently is second on the team with a 52.6 percent (30-of-57) field goal percentage.  Hogue averages a team and league-best 2.5 blocked shots per game.

As a team, the Mavericks average 66.3 points per game and their 43.4 field goal percentage (65-of-199) is second best in the Summit League.  UNO is one of the top free throw shooting teams in the league with a free throw percentage of 68.5 percent (98-of-143).  Omaha also averages 14.5 assists per game, which is third in the conference.

Defensively, the Mavs lead the league in blocks per game (5.7), points per game allowed (58.1) and opponents' field goal percentage (35.3 percent).  They are also third in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (26.2) and in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage (28.0 percent).

Behind the Numbers

663 – Number of points scored by Omaha through 10 games this season.

505 – Career rebounds by Mikaela Shaw which ranks her 21^st all-time.

97 – Points scored against Waldorf on Nov. 24, the highest single game point total this season.

92 – Points needed by Shaw to reach 1,000 career points.

72 – Combined assists this season by Shaw and Amber Vidal.  The duo are tied for fifth place in the Summit League with 36 apiece.

41 – Combined 3-pointers made by Ellie Brecht (20) and Remy Davenport (21) this season.

31 – Points scored by Shaw against Eastern Illinois, the highest individual total this season by a Maverick.

25 – Blocked shots by Caroline Hogue this season, which is tops in the league.

5 – Number of consecutive games won at Baxter Arena this season.

4 – Double-doubles this season by Shaw.  She leads the team and league in this category.

Bluejay Briefs (Last Game)

• Last time out, Creighton dropped a 53-51 decision to Summit League member South Dakota State.
• Jade Owens had a team-high 14 points and four assists.
• MC McGrory and Lauren Works each had nine points in the loss.  McGorory had a team-best six rebounds.
• Kylie Brown blocked three shots and grabbed four boards.
• CU shot 40.8 percent (20-49) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-13) from 3-point land against the Jackrabbits.  SDSU outrebounded Creighton 32-30.

Catching Up with Creighton

Creighton is 4-6 on the season and currently is on a four game losing streak.  The Bluejays have played eight of their last nine games on the road.  The Jays last played on Dec. 12 at home where lost to South Dakota State, 53-51.

The Creighton women's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Bluejays return four starters from last season, highlighted by 2014 Big East Player of the Year Marissa Janning. Sydney Lamberty was a six-time Big East Freshman of the Week last season. 

Overall, the Bluejays are led by Audrey Faber with 15.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.  Faber shoots 50.0 percent from both the field (51-of-102) and long range (26-of-46).  MC McGrory averages 11.4 points per game, while shooting 53.1 percent (43-of-81) from the field and 50.0 percent from 3-point range.  Marissa Janning adds 10.7 points per game.  Janning has not played for CU since suffering an injury in the sixth game of the season.  Creighton is also without the services of Brianna Rollerson who suffered a season ending injury against Marist on Nov. 15.

Head coach Jim Flanery is in his 14^th season at the helm of the Creighton women's basketball program.

Series History

• Omaha and Creighton will be meeting for the 27^th time in program history.
• The Mavericks lead the all-time series, 16-10.

Newcomers Making Noise

This season, the Mavericks roster features five freshmen and eight underclassmen, with underclassmen accounting for 1300 minutes (64.2%), 426 points (64.3%), 173 rebounds (47.4%), 87 assists (60.0 %), 38 steals (50.0%), and 53 blocks (93.0%).  Among the group, freshmen make up 654 minutes (32.3%), 245 points (37.0%), 104 rebounds (28.5%), 52 assists (35.9%), 22 steals (28.9%), and 30 blocks (52.6%). 

NCAA Stat Rankings – Team

• Omaha ranks 12^th nationally in blocked shots (57) and 21^st nationally in blocked shots per game (5.7).  Morehead State is the national leader with 84 blocks, while Oregon State leads the nation with 8.0 blocks per game.
• UNO ranks 49^th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (35.2 percent).  Oregon State leads the nation in field-goal percentage defense (28.8 percent).

NCAA Stat Rankings – Individual

• Caroline Hogue and Vanessa Barajas both on the nation chat for blocked shots.  Hogue ranks 19^th nationally in blocked shots (25) and 27^th in blocks per game (2.5).  Barajas is 69^th nationally in blocks (19).
• Mikaela Shaw is 38^th nationally in field goals made (72) and 54^th nationally in field-goal percentage (54.5%).  She is also 51^st in points per game (18.7 ppg).
• Shaw ranks 43^rd nationally in total points (187) and 44^th in free throws attempted (44).  Her four double-doubles this season are 31^st nationally.
• Ellie Brecht ranks 43^rd nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (45.5%).

Block Party

Omaha has been on a record pace this season blocking shots.  The Mavericks currently lead the Summit League with 57 blocks and average 5.7 blocks a game. UNO has four players that rank in the top 20 in the league standings this season.  Caroline Hogue leads the way with 25 rejections and averages 2.5 per game.  Vanessa Barajas is next with 19 blocks and averages 1.9 per game.  Sara Echelberry and Remy Davenport are tied for 19^th in the league with four 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 eight of their 10 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 and Remy Davenport are tied for 19^th with four blocks.  Hogue averages 2.5 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 Dec. 6.  She has blocked at least three shots in six games this season.

Up Next

Omaha wraps up non-conference play on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. against Utah Valley at Baxter Arena.

The Mavericks start Summit League play on Wednesday, Dec. 30 against North Dakota State.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena.

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 four double-doubles this season (Indiana State, Houston Baptist, Illinois State, and SIUE).
• 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.
• The Mavericks played their first overtime game of the season against SIUE on Dec. 13.
• UNO shot 53.4 percent (31-58) against SIUE.

Davenport from Deep

Remy Davenport connected on three 3-pointers last weekend against SIUE.  The sophomore sharp-shooter now has hit at least one trey in 29 straight games for the Mavericks dating back to Dec. 14, 2014. 

Davenport now has 83 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).