OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team returns home to start a three-game homestand this week.  UMKC visits Baxter Arena for the first time on Thursday, Dec. 3 with tipoff set for 7 p.m.  UNO will welcome Eastern Illinois to Baxter Arena on Sunday, Dec. 6 starting at 2 p.m.

Fans can hear Thursday's game on 1180 Zone 2 with Jon Green on the call.  Sunday's game can be heard on 90.7 FM KVNO with Noah Sullinger and Sam Murphy calling the game.  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.

About Omaha

The Mavericks wrapped up a 13-day stretch in which they played five games in four different states.  The stretch started with the November 17 game at North Dakota and ended with the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas.

Omaha is now 4-2 overall and own a perfect 2-0 mark at Baxter Arena.  UNO went 1-1 at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic.  In Sunday's 60-56 victory over Illinois State, the Mavericks blocked a school record 15 shots, nine by sophomore Vanessa Barajas.  Freshman Ellie Brecht scored 17 points and grabbed seven boards, both career highs.  Mikaela Shaw had a double-double in both games, including a 17 point, 10 rebound effort against the Redbirds.

Heading into this week's games, Shaw ranks fourth in the league in scoring (17.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (8.0 per game).  She also leads the league in free throws made and attempts (26/40) and is third in steals (12).  Barajas and freshman Caroline Hogue are the top two shot blockers in the conference.  Barajas averages 2.5 blocks per game, while Hogue is at 1.8 per game.  Freshman Amber Vidal is tied for third in the league with 26 assists.

This season from the field, Omaha is shooting 41.8 percent and 29.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.  Omaha's defense is limiting the opposition to a 33.2 field goal percentage and the percentage drops to 19.4 percent from 3-point land. The Mavericks average only 14.5 turnovers per game.  The Mavs also give up only 54.8 points per game, which leads the league.

Behind the Numbers

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

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

21 – Total points scored by Omaha's freshmen on Sunday afternoon.

15 – Total number of blocked shots against Illinois State.  This set a school and league record.

17 – Points scored by Ellie Brecht against Illinois State to set a career high.

9 – Blocked shots from Vanessa Barajas on Sunday setting a new school record.

7 – Rebounds by Brecht to set a career high.

5 – Number of new players this season to see playing time against Illinois State.

3 – Number of double-doubles this season by Shaw.

Keeping up with the Kangaroo's

• UMKC hosted the Plaza Lights Classic over the Thanksgiving holiday.
• The 'Roos lost to Indiana State and SIU-E over the weekend.  Indiana State won Friday's match-up, 77-47, and SIU-E was victorious, 63-58.
• Aries Washington was named to the Plaza Lights Classic All-Tournament team. Washington had 14 points, three rebounds against SIU-E and eight points, three rebounds against Indiana State.
• Ceidra Coleman had a team-best nine points in the loss to Indiana State.
• UMKC has won the WBCA Team Academic Award for the highest GPA in all of Division I two years in a row.

Updating UMKC

The Kangaroos are searching for their first win of the 2015-16 season and bring a 0-5 overall mark into Thursday's game.  UMKC was picked to finish seventh in the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Poll by both the coaches and the media.  They finished the 2014-15 season 6-24 overall and 4-10 in WAC play.

Last season, the UMKC regular rotation featured six freshmen and nine underclassmen, with underclassmen accounting for 167.9 minutes (86.2%), 52.1 points (90.1%), 29.1 rebounds (83.8%), 9.6 assists (86.4%), 4.3 steals (93.3%) and 1.8 blocks (83.6%).  Among the group, freshman made up 104.5 minutes (51.4%), 32.3 points (56.4%), 19.3 rebounds (53.6%), 5.7 assists (48.7%), 2.5 steals (51.4%) and 1.3 blocks (62.3%).  Overall, the 'Roos were third in the NCAA in minutes played by freshmen at 51.4% of total minutes, trailing only Clemson and Miami (OH).

This season, UMKC returns four starters in Taylor Leathers, Grace Mitchell, Aries Washington, and Samantha Waldron.  Kansas City also features five new players, including four junior college transfers in Daijane Dillard, Kelsey Barrett, India Johnson, and Ceidra Coleman, as well as true freshman LaDerica Paul.

Law and Washington lead the way for Kansas City.  Law leads the team in scoring (10.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.0), while Washington is next with 9.2 points per game.  Coleman and Barrett lead the team in assists with 10 each.

Eye on Eastern Illinois

• Eastern Illinois squares off against Summit League member Western Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 2. 
• The Panthers dropped a 78-47 decision at Saint Louis over the Thanksgiving weekend.
• Erica Brown had a team high 13 points and six rebounds, while teammate Halle Stull added 12 points and six boards.
• SLU held EIU to just 27.3 percent from the field (15-55) and 22.2 percent from 3-point distance (4-18).
• Erica Brown had a double-double (15 pts, 16 reb) against Loyola-Chicago earlier this season.
• No opposing team has yet to run the table against EIU leading from start to finish. The Panthers have fought to earn a lead in every match so far this season. The shortest span was 25 seconds in the third period against Indiana State following a Halle Stull three-pointer.

Previewing the Panthers

Eastern Illinois is currently on a five-game losing streak after opening the season with an overtime victory over IUPUI, 77-71.  The Panthers host Western Illinois on Wednesday, before visiting Omaha on Sunday.  EIU was picked to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll.  They finished 10-20 overall last season with a 7-9 OVC mark.

Erica Brown will be EIU's top returning production as the junior averaged eight points per game last season while coming down with 198 rebounds. Brown ranked third in the OVC for blocked shots with 49 placing her fourth all-time for single season blocks at EIU. Grace Lennox comes into this season as the only returning Panther to start in all 30 games last season. During the 2014-15 season Lennox had 108 assists leading the team by more than 50 assists. She also led the team in shooting from the free throw line holding a .738 free throw percentage.  Shakita Cox and Alece Shumpert are the only seniors on a very young Panther roster.  Cox played in all 30 matches during the 2014-15 season averaging 5.4 points with a season high 20 points against Illinois-Chicago.  Shumpert fought her way back from an injury-plagued sophomore season to be a valuable reserve last season for EIU.

Eastern Illinois has used the same starting line-up all six games this season.  Brown leads the team in scoring with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.  Cox is second on the team with 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.  Lennox leads the team in assists with 29 followed by 14 from Cox.

The Panthers average 58.8 points, while giving up 75.7.  They shoot 34.5 percent from the field (124-359) and 24.2 from long range (31-128).

Series History

Thursday's contest with UMKC will be the seventh meeting between the two teams.  The all-time series record is level, 3-3.  The last meeting came in last game of the 2012-13 season when both schools were Summit League members.  Omaha won the match-up at Sapp Fieldhouse, 68-41.

Sunday's game with Eastern Illinois will be the fourth all-time between the two schools.  Omaha leads the all-time series, 2-1.  Last year, the Panthers defeated the Mavericks in Charleston, 77-66.

Up Next

The Mavericks will play seven games in December, six of them at home in the friendly confines of Baxter Arena.  Omaha wraps up a brief three-game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. against Midland. The game will be aired on 90.7 FM KVNO with Noah Sullinger and Sam Murphy on the call.  Links to live stats and video streaming will be available at OMavs.com.