This Weekend
The Omaha women's basketball team faces Graceland in its only exhibition of the 2016-17 season, this Sunday Nov. 6. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Donny Baarns will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2. Fans can stream the audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app "1620 The Zone," and links to live stats, audio and video 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 Graceland Yellowjackets
Graceland is 0-1 this season and is coming off a 106-94 loss to Mid-America Christian on Oct. 27. Head coach Frank Howell is in his first season leading the Yellowjackets.
Forward Sydney Vaughn had a double-double in the season opener with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Vaughn also had four assists and four steals. Guard Tristen McFeders added 23 points and four rebounds, and guard Gabes Lapinski had 15 points.
Series History
Omaha and Graceland have met twice in the regular season with the Mavericks winning both contests. UNO topped the Yellowjackets 89-54 on Nov. 21, 2014.
Last Time Out: Mavericks' Run Ends in Semifinals Against SDSU
Omaha was unable to recover from an early deficit, falling to second seed South Dakota State, 76-60, in The Summit League Semifinals at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center last March.
Caroline Hogue and Ellie Brecht led Omaha in scoring, each finishing with 17 points. Hogue grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and blocked two shots while Brecht had five rebounds and two assists. Mikaela Shaw added 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Jackrabbits shot 43.5 percent (30-of-69) from the field, making 11 three-pointers. The Mavericks were 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor. Omaha made 84.6 percent (11-of-13) of its free throws compared to only 33.3 percent (5-of-15) by SDSU.
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-conference 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).
Success in Season Openers
Omaha is 3-1 in exhibition games during the Brittany Lange era. In 2013-14, the Mavericks defeated Lincoln University 85-54 at Sapp Fieldhouse. UNO topped Rockhurst, 61-55, in its only exhibition of the 2014-15 season. Last season, Omaha lost its first exhibition against Washburn, 61-56, and defeated Peru State, 107-64, at Baxter Arena.
Meeting the Mavs
UNO returns three starters from the 2015-16 squad, including the Summit League's leading scorer and a first-team all-conference 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.
Ready Redshirts
The Mavericks will look for contributions from three Division I transfers – redshirt senior guard Michaela Dapprich, redshirt junior guard Moriah Dapprich and redshirt sophomore center Courtney Vaccher – and freshman Jay Bridgeman.
Michaela Dapprich, who averaged averaged 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, was a three-year starter at Wichita State and appeared in three NCAA Tournaments. 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.
Newcomers
The Mavericks have two new faces on the roster this year in junior guard Jess Walter and freshman guard Alexa Fisher. Walter will redshirt this season after transferring from Indiana.
Chasing History
Last season, Mikaela Shaw became the 18th player in program history to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds. She ranks 12th all-time in scoring with 1,270 points and ninth all-time with 667 career rebounds.
Davenport Moving Up All-Time 3-Point Chart
Remy Davenport has made 127 career 3-pointers to rank eighth in program history. Davenport nailed 65 3-pointers as a sophomore, the fourth highest single-season total in Maverick history. She sank 62 3-pointers during her freshman season. Davenport set the UNO single-game record with 10 made treys against Denver on Jan. 17, 2016.
At Baxter Arena
The 2015-16 season marked Omaha's first season playing at Baxter Arena. Last season, Omaha posted a home record of 10-5.
Last season on its home court, Omaha's average margin of victory was 6.4, and it scored an average of 65.7 points per game.
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.
Up Next
Omaha opens the regular season in the Preseason WNIT, Friday, Nov. 11 at Colorado State at 8 p.m. CT.
