OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team used an impressive first quarter and 27 points from sophomore Remy Davenport to defeat Western Illinois, 79-66, Sunday afternoon in Summit League action at Baxter Arena. The Mavericks improved to 9-5 on the season and 2-0 in Summit League play. The Leathernecks fall to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Davenport was one of three players to score in double-figures for the Mavericks, as junior Mikaela Shaw posted 17 points and freshman Caroline Hogue added 11 points. Davenport was efficient from the floor on 7-of-11 shooting and 5-of-8 from 3-point land. She added an 8-of-8 effort from the free throw line. The sophomore also grabbed a season-best seven rebounds. Shaw was equally effective from the field as she shot 7-of-10 from the floor with eight rebounds, and four assists. Hogue was 5-of-10 from the floor with six rebounds, and four blocked shots. Senior Bobbi Beckwith had four points and a game-high five assists.
Western Illinois had three players in double-figures with Michelle Maher leading the way with 18 points. Maher was 6-of-14 from the floor including a 5-of-9 effort from 3-point range. She also grabbed five rebounds. Emily Clemens added 12 points and five steals, while Sophie Reichelt chipped in 10 points and four boards.
Omaha was 28-of-51 from the floor (54.9 percent) compared to Western Illinois 28-of-73 effort (38.4 percent). The Mavericks also were 8-of-18 from deep (44.4 percent) and held one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation to 7-of 23 from distance (30.4 percent). UNO was near perfect from the charity stripe going 15-of-18 from the line (83.3 percent), while WIU connected on 3-of-5 free throws (60 percent). The Mavericks also won the rebounding battle, 42-24, but the Leathernecks forced the Mavs into 24 turnovers and committed only 10.
Omaha hit its stride early in the contest, as it jumped out to a seven point lead, 11-4, with 6:04 left in the first period. Amber Vidal led the Mavericks early on with five quick points. Ellie Brecht drained a trey with 2:08 left in the quarter to give UNO its first double digit lead of the day, 21-9. Abi Lujan gave Omaha its largest lead of the stanza at 15 points with a 3-pointer, 26-11. Taylor Higgenbotham hit two free throws at the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 13 points, 26-13.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair with both teams struggling to score points. Davenport led the way for Omaha by scoring eight of the team's 12 points in the quarter. The Mavericks largest lead of the half came with 8:05 left in the half as Davenport hit her first 3-pointer of the game. Western Illinois would cut the lead to 12 points on a Clemens lay-up with 1:56 left in the half, 36-24. Davenport would strike again for the Mavericks with a jumper to make the score at the half, 38-24.
Western Illinois forced Omaha into two turnovers and hit their first four shots of the second half to whittle the Mavs lead to eight points, 41-33, with 7:34 left in the quarter. A Hogue lay-up followed up by a Shaw jumper and a Davenport 3-pointer would push the lead back to double-digits with 5:56 left to play in the quarter, 48-33. A Vanessa Barajas bucket with 3:48 left in the period would stretch the lead to 16-points. A pair of Shaw baskets and a 15-foot jumper by Davenport to end the quarter pushed the Mavericks lead to 19 points, 61-42.
Shaw opened the final stanza with a jumper to give Omaha its largest lead of the game at 21 points, 63-42. Western Illinois would not go down with a fight as it would go on a 17-4 run to cut the lead to eight points with 3:35 left in the game, 67-59. During the run Maher would drain a pair of 3-pointers to aid in the comeback attempt. WIU would cut the lead to five, 69-64, on a Clemens bucket with 1:26 left in regulation. A Davenport trey and a pair of Beckwith free throws would push Omaha's lead back to double-figures, 74-64. Davenport would grab two crucial defensive boards and hit four straight free throws in the final 22 seconds to ice the game for Omaha, 79-66.
The Mavericks will open the road portion of their Summit League schedule next week with a pair of games in the state of South Dakota. Omaha travels to Brookings on Thursday, Jan. 7 to take on South Dakota State at 7:00 p.m. UNO will then travel to Vermillion for a Saturday, Jan. 9 game with South Dakota at 1:30 p.m.
