OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha women's basketball looks to remain perfect in Summit League play on Thursday night as it travels to Brookings, South Dakota to take on the league's preseason favorite, South Dakota State.  Tip-off from the Frost Center is set for 7 p.m.

The Mavericks are coming off a 79-66 win against Western Illinois.  The Jackrabbits enter Thursday's contest after an 18-point victory over North Dakota State.  SDSU won both games against UNO last season and the defending post-season tournament champions were picked to win the Summit League in the preseason coaches' poll.

Live Video: A live video stream will be available for all games.  The link can be found on the women's basketball schedule page on OMavs.com.

Live Radio:  Fans can hear the game locally on The Mighty 1290 KOIL with Jon Green on the call. 

Live Stats:  Live stats will be available through Stat Broadcast.  The link for Wednesday's game can be found on the women's basketball schedule page on OMavs.com.

Tickets:  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.

Follow the Mavericks:  Fans can follow the Mavericks all season long on Twitter (@UNOWBB), Facebook (/UNOWBB), and Instagram (UNOWBB) for all the latest news, notes, and behind the scenes photos.  Follow @omavs for the latest on all 15 Omaha Athletics programs.

Maverick Morsels

• The Mavericks opened Summit League play with two straight wins.  This is the first time Omaha has started conference play 2-0 since the 2004-05 season.
• Sophomore Remy Davenport averaged a team-best 25 points per game in the first two league games with junior Mikaela Shaw chipping in at a 18.0 ppg clip…Davenport also averaged 6.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in those games…Shaw averaged 11.0 rpg, 4 apg and 1.5 spg during that span.
• Overall, Shaw leads The Summit League in scoring (18.5 ppg), is fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg), is fourth in assists (3.5 apg), and fifth in field goal percentage (53.2 percent).
• Freshman Caroline Hogue leads The Summit League in blocks per game (2.6 bpg).
• Junior Abi Lujan is 12^th in rebounds per game (6.4 rpg), freshman Amber Vidal is seventh in assists per game (3.1 apg), and Vanessa Barajas is fourth in blocks per game (1.6 bpg).
• The Mavericks are in the top four in 12 different statistical categories according to Summit League reports.  They lead in defensive rebounds per game (27.1 drpg), blocked shots per game (5.8 bpg), and opponents field goal percentage (36.5 percent).
• Omaha is in the Top 20 nationally in blocked shots (81) and blocked shots per game (5.8 bpg).

Omaha High Points

43 – Minutes played by Mikaela Shaw against SIUE on Dec. 13.

31 – Points scored by Shaw against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.

14 – Rebounds by Shaw against North Dakota State on Dec. 30.

9 – Blocked shots by Vanessa Barajas against Illinois State on Nov. 29.

7 – Assists by Amber Vidal against SIUE.

6 – Three-pointers made by Remy Davenport against NDSU.

5 – Steals from Kalen Phillips against Waldorf on Nov. 24.

SDSU Synopsis

• South Dakota State, the reigning Summit League tournament champions, are 2-0 in league play this year with wins over Denver and North Dakota State.  Last season, the Jackrabbits went 12-4 in league play last season.
• The Jackrabbits are 12-3 overall and 2-0 in league play this season.  Their three losses have been to then-No. 3 Notre Dame, then-No. 6 Maryland and Green Bay.
• SDSU is ranked No. 4 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.  The program's previous high was No. 6 on Nov. 18, 2014.
• South Dakota State averages 69.3 points per game, while limiting the opposition to 61 ppg.
• The Jackrabbits average 38.2 rebounds per game and hold the opposition to only 35.7 boards per game.
• Macy Miller is SDSU's leading scorer at 17.5 points per game.  She is also the Jacks' top playmaker (2.7 apg) and grabs 4.1 rebounds per game.
• Kerrri Young (11.5) is the other Jack averaging in double digits in scoring, while collecting 5.2 boards per game.
• On the boards, Clarissa Ober grabs a team-leading 8.3 caroms an outing.  Ober averages 8.1 points per game and 1.7 blocks per game.

Omaha-South Dakota State Series History

The Mavericks trail the all-time series, 34-31.  The Jackrabbits have won all six meetings since UNO's transition to NCAA Division I.

Last season, SDSU swept the two-game conference series.  The Jackrabbits defeated Omaha in Brookings, 101-66, on Jan. 15.  South Dakota State completed the sweep with a 60-49 victory in Omaha on Feb. 18.

Fantastic Fresh Faces

This season, the Mavericks roster features five freshmen and eight underclassmen.  The freshmen are Ellie Brecht, Sara Echelberry, Caroline Hogue, and Amber Vidal.  Joining them are underclassmen Vanessa Barajas, Remy Davenport, and Marissa Preston.

So far this season, the group combined to play in 101 games with 42 starts.  The freshmen alone combined to play in 59 games with 13 starts.  All told, the underclassmen have played in 1,793 minutes (63.5%), scored 581 points (62.9%), grabbed 247 rebounds (46.4%), dished out 109 assists (57.4%), had 73 blocks (90.1%), and had 44 steals (46.8%).

The freshmen have played in 925 minutes (32.7%) and scored 325 points (35.2%).  They have also grabbed 146 boards (27.4%), dished out 66 assists (34.7%), blocked 42 shots (51.9%) and have made 26 steals (27.7%).

Up Next

The Mavericks head to Vermillion, South Dakota where they will take on the University of South Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 1:30 p.m.  The game against USD will be televised on MidcoSN/ESPN3.

Links to radio, live stats, and video will be available on OMavs.com.

NCAA Stat Rankings – Individual

• Caroline Hogue is in the Top 15 nationally in blocked shots.  The freshman center is 11^th in the nation with 37 blocks this year.  Josie Stockill of Colgate is the national leader with 57.
• Hogue is also ranked 24^th in blocks per game with 2.64.  Stockill leads the nation with 4.75 blocks per game.
• Mikaela Shaw ranks 30^th nationally in field goals made (100) with Kelsey Plum of Washington topping the category with 127.
• Shaw is also 55^th in field goal percentage (53.2 percent), 37^th in total points (259), and 48^th in points per game (18.5).

NCAA Stat Rankings – Team

• Omaha ranks 10^th nationally in blocked shots (81) and 14^th nationally in blocked shots per game (5.8).  Morehead State is the national leader with 110 blocks and in blocks per game (7.3).
• UNO is ranked 53^rd nationally in fewest turnovers per game (14.3).  Villanova commits the fewest turnovers per game (7.5). 

Davenport Earns Player of the Week Honors

Sophomore guard Remy Davenport was named Summit League and College Sports Madness Player of the Week after helping the Omaha women's basketball team to a 2-0 week.

The 5-foot-8 guard averaged 25 points, six rebounds, 1.5 assists, one block, and one steal per game last week.  Davenport shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field, 57.9 percent (11-of-19) from downtown and 92.9 percent (13-of-14) at the free throw line.

In the Dec. 30 win over North Dakota State, the sophomore scored 23 points with five rebounds and no turnovers.

Davenport added 27 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory over Western Illinois on Sunday.  She hit four free throws in the final 22 seconds to help secure the victory.

She leads the team in 3-pointers made (33) and is second on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and free throws made (25).

Not on Our “Block”

Omaha has been on a record pace this season blocking shots.  The Mavericks currently lead the Summit League with 81 blocks and average 5.8 blocks a game. UNO has three players that rank in the top 20 in the league standings this season.  Caroline Hogue leads the way with 37 rejections and averages 2.6 blocks per game.  Vanessa Barajas is fourth with 22 blocks and averages 1.6 bpg, while Remy Davenport is 16^th in the league with 8 blocks and averages 0.6 bpg.

The Mavericks blocked 11 shots against Waldorf on Nov. 24.  Less than a week later, UNO swatted a team record 15 shots against Illinois State at the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio, Texas.  The block totals are the top two team performances in the Summit League this season.

So far this season, the Mavericks have blocked at least four shots in 12 of their 14 games.  The program record for blocks in a season is 142 set last season.  At this rate, Omaha will break that record late in the season.

Noteworthy Performances – Individual

• Remy Davenport went for over 20 points in the last two games.  Davenport went for a season-best 23 points against North Dakota State on Dec. 30 and followed that up with 27 against Western Illinois.
• Davenport has hit 11 three-pointers over the past two games and went 13-of-14 from the free throw line.
• Mikaela Shaw scored a season high 31 points against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.  She was 13-of-21 from the field.
• Caroline Hogue set a career best with 16 points on Sunday, Dec. 20 against Creighton.  Hogue also drained a career best three 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds.
• Bobbi Beckwith went for a season-high 11 points and grabbed six rebounds against North Dakota State.
• Beckwith dished out five assists against Western Illinois.
• Shaw has had five double-doubles this season (Indiana State, Houston Baptist, Illinois State, North Dakota State and SIUE).
• Amber Vidal went for a career-best 20 points on Dec. 3 against UMKC.
• Abi Lujan grabbed 12 rebounds in two straight games to start December.  The junior pulled down 12 boards against UMKC on Dec. 3 and followed that up with 12 more against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.
• Vanessa Barajas blocked nine shots against Illinois State on Nov. 29 to set a program record.
• Hogue set a career-record in rebounds against Waldorf (12) and blocks against Eastern Illinois (5).
• Ellie Brecht went for 17 points against Illinois State on Nov. 29.  Brecht was 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line and also pulled down a career best seven rebounds.

Noteworthy Performances – Team

• Omaha set a program record with 39 3-point attempts in the season opener against Central Florida.  The Mavericks connected on 10 of those attempts.
• UNO went for 95 points against Waldorf in late November.  Omaha shot 53.9 percent (41-76) from the floor.
• The Mavericks set a program record with 15 blocked shots against Illinois State on Nov. 29.
• UNO shot 54.9 percent from the field (28-of-51) against Western Illinois, which was their best performance from the floor this season.
• Omaha had a season low four turnovers against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 6.
• The Mavericks played their first overtime game of the season against SIUE on Dec. 13.