LINCOLN, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team led a majority of the game but were unable to hold off a fourth-quarter comeback by Nebraska, falling 66-58 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The Mavericks are now 1-3 (0-0 Summit League) on the season, while the Cornhuskers improve to 3-1 (0-0 Big Ten).
Senior forward Mikaela Shaw led the Mavericks, finishing with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the field. Senior guard Michaela Dapprich delivered 18 points on 8-of-18 shooting with two 3-pointers.
Junior Moriah Dapprich grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Jay Bridgeman added five points and three boards.
Jessica Shepard led Nebraska with 17 points and nine rebounds. Allie Havers added nine points, 11 boards and two blocked shots. Hannah Whitish also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Omaha got out to a 7-0 lead in the opening moments on a layup and a 3-pointer from Shaw. Nebraska countered with a 7-0 run, capped by five quick points from Shepard. Dapprich drained back-to-back three's, and Shaw hit a pair of jumpers as Omaha closed the first quarter on a 12-0 run. UNO held a 21-9 lead entering the second period.
Nebraska opened the second with 10 straight to cut the UNO lead to two points, 21-19. Bridgeman put the Mavericks up four with a three-point play. The Cornhuskers edged in front with three straight 3-pointers, 28-27, with 3:09 remaining in the half. Omaha held Nebraska scoreless the rest of the quarter and pushed ahead on buckets from Bridgeman and Dapprich and took a 31-28 lead into halftime.
The Huskers sank three free throws to open the third period to draw even, 31-31. Three-pointers from junior Remy Davenport and senior Abi Lujan gave Omaha a five-point edge midway through the quarter. A late Nebraska surge sent the game to the fourth with the Huskers holding a 45-41 advantage.
A Dapprich jumper and two Shaw free throws cut the led to two points early in the fourth quarter. Nebraska pushed the lead back to six on a 3-pointer from Rylie Cascio Jensen. The Mavericks managed to come within three at 53-50 with a three-pointer from junior Marissa Preston, then again at 55-52 with a pair of free throws from Shaw. Though Omaha pulled within four with 2:48 remaining, the Huskers finished it off with a final score of 66-58.
Omaha returns to action with its home opener this Friday, Nov. 25, welcoming Indiana State to Baxter Arena at 2 p.m. Donny Baarns will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
