OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half and held off a furious second half comeback attempt by Fort Wayne to claim a 70-61 victory on Thursday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse.
The Mavericks improved to 9-19 overall and 4-11 in the Summit League, while the Mastodons fell to 9-19 overall and 3-12 in Summit League play.
Madi Robson had a team-high 15 points, all coming in the second half. Robson was 2-of-2 from the field and 11-of -14 at the free throw line. She also dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds.
Remy Davenport added 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including three treys. Taijhe Kelly chipped in 10 points, five rebounds, and blocked four shots. Mikaela Shaw had nine points and nine rebounds.
Keanna Gary had a game-high 16 points to lead Fort Wayne. Gary was 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-10 at the line. Haley Seibert had 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers.
Fort Wayne scored the first basket of the game, but Omaha responded with a 14-0 run to take the lead for good. Bobbi Beckwith and Felicia Anderson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Mavs up 14-2 at the 12:20 mark.
Lanese Bough hit a pair of jumpers and Davenport drained a 3-pointer to extend the Mavericks lead to 26-7 with 5:34 left in the half. IPFW ended the half on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 26-17 at the half.
After halftime, Fort Wayne chipped away at the Mavs' lead. With UNO ahead 35-25 with 13:48 remaining, a 3-pointer from Allyson Bunch, and a UNO foul led to a pair of free throws by Gary. Following a missed shot by Omaha, a trey from Seibert tied the game at 35-35 with 10:52 left on the clock.
A Davenport three-pointer with 8:47 left gave Omaha a 42-39 lead. Fort Wayne evened the game again at 42-42 on a Gary lay-up with 7:54 remaining.
Robson and Shaw combined to go 6-of-6 from the line to push the Omaha lead to 50-46 with 5:23 left in the game. Kelly pushed the led back to double-digits by making four straight free throws.
Fort Wayne made one last effort to tie the game. The Mastodons cut the lead to 66-61 with 28 seconds left on the clock on a Green layup.
Robson put the game out of reach in the final 24 seconds by making four straight free throws to give Omaha a 70-61 win.
Omaha shot 38.8 percent (19-of-49) from the floor and 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from distance. Fort Wayne shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the floor and 38.9 percent (7-of-18) from deep. The Mavericks shot 83.9 percent (26-of-31) from the free throw line, while the Mastodons shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15).
Fort Wayne out rebounded Omaha by a 37-34 margin, but Omaha forced IPFW into 18 turnovers, while committing only 13.
Omaha wraps up the 2014-15 season against Denver on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. Prior to the game Maverick seniors, Anderson, Bough, Kelly, and Cathleen Cox will be honored.
