FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State used an 11-point edge in the second quarter and shot 44.3 percent for the game to defeat the Omaha women's basketball team 69-42 on Friday night at Moby Arena in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
With the loss, Omaha is 0-1 on the year, while the Rams improve to 1-0.
Senior forward Mikaela Shaw led the way for the Mavericks, totaling 14 points on 5-for-17 shooting. She added a team-leading eight rebounds and three assists.
Redshirt sophomore center Courtney Vaccher had seven points and six rebounds, and redshirt freshman forward Jay Bridgeman added six points and two boards.
Ellen Nystrom paced CSU with 22 points for the evening, including a 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line. Elin Gustavsson added 13 points and eight rebounds.
As a team, Omaha shot 31.9 percent from the field, helped by a 6-for-11 effort from the field in the third quarter. The Rams finished 44.3 percent from the field and shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line.
The Mavericks trailed 16-8 after the first quarter, then hit just 2-for-10 shots in the second to fall behind 31-12 at the half. Colorado State, which went 7-for-20 in the second quarter, outscored Omaha in the period 15-4.
The Rams opened the second half on a 12-5 run to push the score to 43-17, but the Mavericks closed the third quarter on an 11-4 run to cut the CSU lead to 19 points. Colorado State had pushed its lead to 31 points in the fourth quarter before Vaccher scored the game's final four points.
Omaha will continue Preseason WNIT play next weekend with the start time and opponent for UNO's next contest yet to be determined.
