This Weekend
The Omaha women's basketball team opens the 2016-17 season this weekend, visiting Colorado State on Friday, Nov. 11. Tip-off for the Mavericks' debut in the in the Preseason WNIT is set for 8 p.m. CT, and Donny Baarns will also have the radio call on KOIL 1290 AM, and fans can stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “1620 The Zone.” Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• Omaha returns eight letterwinners from its 2015-16 team, including three starters in senior forward Mikaela Shaw, senior guard Abi Lujan and junior guard Remy Davenport.
• The Mavericks were picked fifth in the Summit League's Preseason Poll released in October, and Shaw was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team for the second straight season.
• UNO has four returning players who averaged 5.0 or more points per game last year: Shaw (18.3), Davenport (10.3), sophomore guard Amber Vidal (5.9) and sophomore guard Ellie Brecht (5.7).
• The Mavericks will play a total of 29 games, including 13 contests at Baxter Arena.
• Omaha's non-conference schedule includes Colorado State, Creighton, Kansas State, Nebraska, and UCF.
• Brittany Lange is in her fourth season as head coach.
Scouting the Colorado State Rams
Colorado State went 31-2 (18-0 Mountain West) last season and was picked win the Mountain West. The Rams return nine letterwinners from last year's team, including Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year Ellen Nystrom, who averaged 10.2 points per game along with 5.6 assists per game and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Head coach Ryun Williams is in his fifth year at CSU with a record of 90-37 and a career record of 348-190 in 18 years of coaching.
Series History
Friday marks the fourth meeting between Omaha and Colorado State, with the Mavericks leading the all-time series, 2-1. UNO took the last game against CSU, 72-63, on Jan. 16, 1986.
At a Glance: 2015-16
Omaha finished the 2015-16 season with a record of 15-15 (7-9 Summit League). Mikaela Shaw and former Maverick Caroline Hogue earned All-Summit League recognition, as Shaw garnered First-Team accolades and Hogue earned a spot on the All-Newcomer team.
In its first year after completing its transition to Division I, UNO picked up its first Summit League Tournament victory, defeating third-seeded IUPUI, 62-51.
As a team, Omaha led the Summit League with 5.8 blocks per game last year. The Mavericks were also first in free throw percentage (72.2) and second in opponents' field-goal percentage (38.5).
Meeting the Mavs
UNO returns three starters from the 2015-16 squad, including the Summit League's leading scorer and a First-Team All-Summit selection in senior forward Mikaela Shaw (18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists), as well as senior guard Abi Lujan, and junior guard Remy Davenport (10.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg).
Returning are sophomore guards Ellie Brecht (5.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg), Sara Echelberry (1.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg), Kalen Phillips (2.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg) and Amber Vidal (5.9 ppg, 2.6 apg). Redshirt junior guard Marissa Preston appeared in 30 games with three starts and averaged 2.7 points per game last season.
Leader of the Pack
Senior forward Mikaela Shaw led the Mavericks in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounding (7.9 rpg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.6 spg). Shaw earned First Team All-Summit League honors and was a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Last season, she became the 18th player in program history to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds. Shaw ranks 12th all-time in scoring with 1,270 points and ninth all-time with 667 career rebounds.
Davenport from Downtown
Junior guard Remy Davenport averaged 10.3 points per game and was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Summit League last season. Davenport shot .371 (65-of-175) from downtown as a sophomore.
Davenport has made 127 career 3-pointers to rank eighth in program history. She connected on 65 3-pointers and set the UNO single-game record with 10 made treys against Denver on Jan. 17, 2016.
Ready To Go
Michaela Dapprich is ready to make the most of her senior season for the Mavericks. Before transferring to Omaha last season, Dapprich played a pivotal role as Wichita State won three regular season Missouri Valley Conference Championships, three MVC Tournament Champions and three NCAA Tournament berths.
Dapprich played in 95 games and made 72 starts in her career while averaging 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. She connected on 94 career 3-pointers, ranking eighth all-time in Wichita State history, plus her career 34.7 3-point field goal percentage ranks ninth on the all-time list.
Ready Redshirts
Along with Michaela Dapprich, the Mavericks will look for contributions from two other Division I transfers –redshirt junior guard Moriah Dapprich and redshirt sophomore center Courtney Vaccher – and freshman Jay Bridgeman.
Moriah Dapprich played two seasons for the Shockers, appearing in 46 games and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds. Vaccher appeared in four games as a freshman at Texas Tech.
Shaw in the Summit
Mikaela Shaw earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team accolades for the second straight season. Shaw averaged 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game in 2015-16. As a junior, she was a first-team All-Summit League selection and named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team. Shaw led the Summit League in points per game and was second in total points (549).
Summit League Poll Released
Omaha was picked to finish fifth in the 2016-17 Summit League Preseason Poll, the conference office announced last month. The poll was tallied in a vote of the league's head coaches, communications personnel and media.
South Dakota State was the favorite to win the Summit League, garnering 30 first-place votes for 542 points. IUPUI was second with 438 points, while South Dakota earned three first-place votes and 393 points for third. Oral Roberts came in fourth with one first place vote and 391 points, followed by Omaha, which received 325 points for fifth. Western Illinois was sixth in the poll with 250 points, while North Dakota State (156), Denver (150) and Fort Wayne (80) rounded it out in seventh, eighth and ninth places, respectively.
Shaw Named to Academic All-America Third Team
Last season, Mikaela Shaw was a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Shaw became the fifth Academic All-American in Omaha women's basketball history, with Paige Frauendorfer being the first Academic All-American in the Division I era. Other women's basketball honorees include Laura Anderson (1988), Amy Loth (1997), and Stacie Kaiser (1997).
Omaha Basketball Schedule Set
UNO's 2016-17 schedule includes 29 games, and the team will play nine states against schools from eight other Division I conference. The schedule has two opponents from the Big 12 and one each from the AAC, BIG East, CIAA, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Southern and WAC. Three opponents – Colorado State, Kansas State and Summit League Tournament champion South Dakota State – played in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Getting to Know Coach Lange
Brittany Lange enters her fourth season as the head coach for the Mavericks and sixth with the pro-gram overall. Last season, UNO finished with a 15-15 overall record and earned the program's first berth into the Summit League Tournament as the sixth seed. In the tournament quarterfinals, Omaha upset third-seeded IUPUI, 62-51.
Lange's assistants are Lee Aduddell, Rodney Rogan, and Kirk Walker. Sadie Murren is in her first season as the director of basketball operations.
Up Next
The Omaha women's basketball team will continue Preseason WNIT play next week with the start time and opponent for UNO's next contest yet to be determined.
