The Omaha women's basketball team embarks on its final two game road swing of the season. The Mavericks visit the Summit League leaders, South Dakota, on Thursday, Feb.12. Tipoff from the Dakota Dome in Vermillion is set for 7:00 p.m. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
The Teams
Omaha (7-16, 2-9 Summit League) picked up a conference win on Sunday against Western Illinois, 54-51, at the Sapp Fieldhouse in Omaha.
South Dakota (19-5, 9-2 Summit League) is on a four game winning streak against Summit League members and lead the league standings. The Coyotes won at North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon, 83-79
Scouting the Coyotes
South Dakota (19-5, 9-2 Summit League) is riding a four game league winning streak and sits alone atop the Summit League standings.
Last time out, USD held off a second half comeback by North Dakota State to claim an 83-79 win in Fargo, North Dakota. Nicole Seekamp led the Coyotes with 21 points, 15 of those coming in the second half, and tallied five assists. Raeshel Contreras added 20 points, Kelly Stewart tallied 10 points and Margaret McCloud finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Coyotes are paced by Contreras and Seekamp. Contreras, a senior guard, averages 16.0 points per game, while Seekamp adds 14.3 points per game. Seekamp also averages 5.0 assists per game, which leads the Summit League. McCloud averages 9.7 points per game and a team high 6.5 rebounds per game.
USD averages 80.0 points per game and 41.5 rebounds per game. As a team, South Dakota shoots 44.8 percent from the field (6881-of-1519) and 36.2 from long range (154-of-426).
Amy Williams is in her third season as the head women's basketball coach at the University of South Dakota. In her three seasons at USD, she holds a 57-35 overall record. Overall, Williams is in her eighth season as a head coach and owns a 154-100 career mark.
Mav Notes
• Omaha defeated Western Illinois on Sunday afternoon at the Sapp Fieldhouse, 54-51.
• Mikaela Shaw had a game-high 25 points on 10-for-25 shootings, including two 3-pointers. The sophomore guard grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals.
• Senior Taijhe Kelly had seven points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots off the bench. Brianna Bogard added five points, while Madi Robson chipped in four points and five assists.
• Omaha shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the floor and 5-for-15 from distance. The UNO defense held Western Illinois to 27.1 percent (19-for-70) from the floor and 15.0 percent (3-for-20) from 3-point range. The Leathernecks held a 45-41 advantage in rebounding.
• On Wednesday against Oral Roberts, Mikaela Shaw had a career high 32 points going 10-14 from the field and 12-12 from the charity stripe.
• Senior Taijhe Kelly swatted five shots against ORU which led the team, while Lanese Bough had a team high four assists.
• Last weekend against IUPUI, Shaw led the Mavericks in scoring with a game high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Shaw grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steal.
• Remy Davenport added 11 points, all in the second half, on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Davenport grabbed two rebounds to go along with a team-high three steals.
• Sami Pawlak had eight points and four rebounds. Vanessa Barajas, in her first collegiate start, blocked three shots.
• Shaw leads the Mavericks in scoring and rebounding this season. She averages 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
• Bogard is second on the team in scoring. She is averaging 10.2 points per game.
• Bough leads the team in assists (82) and steals (42). She is also second on the team in rebounds (121).
• Shaw has scored in double-digits 13 times this season, which is the most on the team. She has had five double-doubles this season as well.
• Kelly leads the team with 66 blocked shots. She has blocked four or more shots in a game nine times this season.
• Omaha is 1-4 against teams appearing in the CollegeInsider.com Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Mavs lost to Northern Colorado (RV), North Dakota (RV), South Dakota (RV), and South Dakota State (#14); but defeated #14 Bakersfield, 80-68.
The Series
Thursday's match-up is the 72nd all-time meeting between the two programs. South Dakota leads the series 37-34. USD and UNO have split the last two meets. The Coyotes defeated the Mavericks in the last meeting on Jan. 2 in Omaha, 64-48.
On Air
The game on Thursday evening is set for a 7:00 p.m. start. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Up Next
The Mavericks wrap up the 2014-15 Summit League road portion of the schedule with a trip to Fargo, North Dakota. Omaha faces North Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m. in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse.
