ABILENE, Texas – Mikaela Shaw delivered 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists but the Omaha women's basketball team was unable to overcome a fourth quarter rally by Abilene Christian, falling 73-66 in Preseason WNIT consolation round action Friday evening at Moody Coliseum.
With the loss, the Mavericks are now 0-2 (0-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Wildcats improved to 2-1 (0-0 Southern).
Junior guard Remy Davenport finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Redshirt senior forward Michaela Dapprich added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Marissa Preston chipped in 10 points. Redshirt sophomore center Courtney Vaccher had five points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Amber Vidal had seven points.
Sydney Shelstead and Lizzy Dimba had 18 points each to lead Abilene Christian. Shelstead added six rebounds and an assist, while Dimba had seven boards and blocked a shot.
Omaha got out to a 12-8 lead midway through the first quarter on 3-pointers from Dapprich and Preston. The Wildcats countered with a 9-3 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Shelstead. An Ellie Brecht 3-pointer gave the Mavericks a one point lead, 18-17, at the end of the quarter.
Abilene Christian took a 22-21 lead with 8:22 left in the half on a 3-pointer by Sierra Allen. UNO pushed its lead to three points on baskets from Vidal and Vaccher. The game remained within one bucket for much of the second quarter. Down 31-29, the Mavericks pushed ahead 32-31 with a 3-pointer from Brecht and took a 34-33 lead into halftime.
Dapprich and Davenport would hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half to push Omaha out to a 39-35 advantage. A pair of Shelstead free throws and another 3-pointer from Allen tied the game at 42-all midway through the third quarter. A Dominique Golightly 3-pointer gave ACU a brief one point lead, before Omaha again responded with a 3-pointer from Preston and a bucket from Jay Bridgeman. The Mavericks pushed ahead by as many as four (55-51 with 1:00 left), but a late bucket from Allen sent the game to the fourth with UNO holding a 55-53 advantage.
The two teams traded blows throughout the final period. Abilene Christian started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to take the lead, 58-55. The Mavericks again responded to the challenge and regained the lead 63-62 on a jumper from Vidal with 5:13 remaining. The Wildcats put the game out of reach by outscoring the Mavericks 11-3 in the final 4:51.
Omaha will conclude its Preseason WNIT play on Saturday with a 4 p.m. against North Texas at Moody Coliseum. Donny Baarns will have the radio call on 1290 KOIL, and links to live audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
