VERMILLION, S.D. – The Omaha women's basketball team fell to South Dakota in Summit League road action on Thursday evening, 83-69. The Mavericks are now 7-17 on the season and 2-10 in Summit League play, while the Coyotes are now 20-5 overall and 10-2 in league play.
Omaha had three players in double-digits on Thursday evening. Taijhe Kelly had a game-high 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line. Kelly had four rebounds and three blocked shots.
Mikaela Shaw added 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the floor. Shaw grabbed a team high five rebounds and dished out two assists. Remy Davenport chipped in 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Madi Robson scored nine points and dished out eight assists.
South Dakota had five players reach double-digit points. Nicole Seekamp had a team-high 16 points. Raeshel Contreras had 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Kelly Stewart added 11 points, while Lisa Loeffler and Bridget Arens each had 10 points.
Omaha took an early 6-2 lead on a pair of buckets by Mikaela Shaw and a jumper from Remy Davenport. South Dakota answered with two Raeshel Contreras 3-point baskets to claim a 10-6 lead with 16:50 remaining in the opening half.
Davenport drained a 3-pointer and two Taijhe Kelly jumpers put Omaha back on top, 13-10. A pair of Madi Robson lay-ups kept the Mavericks in front 17-16 with 10:43 remaining. UNO extended the lead to four points, 22-18, following a Kelly lay-up with 9:22 left in the half. South Dakota closed the half on a 22-16 run to take a 44-34 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Mavs fell down 62-47 but responded with a 10-6 run to get within 68-57 at the 8:43 mark. USD stretched the lead to 17 points at 79-62 with 3:46 remaining. Omaha made one last push to cut the lead to 81-69 with under two minutes left, but that was as close as they could get.
The Mavs shot 52.0 percent (26-for-50) from the field, but hit only 28.6 percent (4-for-14) from long range. UNO was 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the free throw line. South Dakota was 44.9 percent (31-for-69) from the field and 30.0 percent (6-for-20) from beyond the arc. The Coyotes hit 88.2 percent (15-for-17) from the charity stripe. USD held a 40-25 rebounding advantage.
Omaha wraps up the road portion of its Summit League schedule against North Dakota State on Saturday, February 14. Tipoff from the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse is set for 2:00 p.m. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
