This Weekend
The Omaha women's basketball team begins Summit League play this Wednesday, Dec. 28, welcoming Oral Roberts to Baxter Arena at 7 p.m. Donny Baarns will have the 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.
Maverick Quick Hits
• Omaha returns home Wednesday evening after a four-game road trip.
• Omaha played eight non-conference road games and one neutral site game to start the 2016-17 season, including games against Abilene Christian, Colorado State, Creighton, North Texas, Nebraska and UCF.
• The Mavericks are currently 6-6 (0-0 Summit League) following an 81-41 defeat against UCF.
• 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.
• Mikaela Shaw leads the team in scoring (15.2 ppg), rebounds (7.9 rpg) and assists (3.8 apg).
• Shaw earned her first Summit League Player of the Week award of the season on Dec. 19.
• Twelve different Mavericks have had at least one 3-pointer this season. As a team, UNO is shooting 36.9 percent (101-of-274) from distance.
• UNO was selected to finish fifth in the 2016-17 Preseason Summit League Coaches' Poll, and Shaw earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team accolades.
• The Mavericks will play a total of 29 games, including 13 contests at Baxter Arena.
• Brittany Lange is in her fourth season as head coach.
Scouting the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts brings an 8-5 (0-0 Summit League) into Wednesday's matchup with Omaha. The Golden Eagles last played Dec. 21, winning 70-60 at Arkansas. Lakota Beatty has a game-high 23 points off the bench, while Maria Martianez had 15 points.
Head coach Misti Cussen is in her fifth season at Oral Roberts with a career record of 67-70. Wednesday marks the seventh all-time meeting between Omaha and Oral Roberts, with the Golden Eagles leading 5-1. ORU won the last meeting, 67-58, on Feb. 25, 2016, in Tulsa, Okla.
Last Time Out: Omaha Falls 81-41 at UCF
ORLANDO, Fla. – Omaha fell at UCF, 81-41, on Tuesday afternoon at CFE Arena.
Mikaela Shaw registered her second double-double of the season and 22nd of her career with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Shaw also recorded four assists, a steal and a block.
Courtney Vaccher had eight points and a blocked shot, while Michaela Dapprich added five points.
Aliyah Gregory led UCF with 18 points and seven assists and shot 9-of-15 from the field. Fifi Hdour added 15 points and four steals, while Zykira Lewis chipped in 11 points and five steals.
The Knights shot .429 (33-of-77) for the afternoon, but .200 (2-of-10) from 3-point distance. UNO was limited to .395 shooting (17-of-43), including .133 (2-of-15) behind the arc. UCF also forced 29 Maverick turnovers, scoring 37 points off miscues.
The Mavericks took a 7-4 lead midway through the first quarter on a layup from Vaccher. The Knights used a 10-4 run to close out the first period and took a 14-11 advantage heading into the second quarter.
UCF used a 10-2 outburst to push its lead to double-digits early in the second stanza. A Shaw layup with 5:43 left in the quarter cut the deficit to 24-15. Central Florida ended the period with a 12-7 run and took a 36-22 lead at halftime.
A jumper by Remy Davenport cut the lead to 12 early in the second half. UCF responded with nine unanswered points and pushed its lead to 21. The Mavericks reduced the Knights lead to 15 on five straight points from Shaw and a 3-pointer by Moriah Dapprich. Over the next 3:30, UCF outscored UNO 7-4 to take a 54-37 advantage at the end of the third quarter.
The Knights held UNO scoreless for 6:42 in the fourth quarter, helping UCF to the 81-41 decision.
Summit League Openers
UNO is 2-2 in Summit League openers since joining the conference in 2012-13. Last season, the Mavericks started league play with a 79-66 win over North Dakota State. In the previous two seasons, they dropped their first conference game 64-48 at South Dakota in 2014-15, and 84-62 against Western Illinois. Omaha defeated UMKC 61-44 to win their first Summit League opener in 2012-13.
Winning Big
Omaha's six wins have come by an average margin of 28.7 points this year. The Mavericks have 20 (at Florida A&M), 23 (at UMKC), 25 (vs. Wofford), 27 (vs. Indiana State), 28 (vs. North Texas) and 49 (vs. Lincoln University).
Shaw Selected Summit League Player of the Week
Mikaela Shaw was named Summit League Women's Basketball Player of the Week for her performance Dec. 12-18, the conference office announced Monday.
Shaw collected her first player of the week selection this season and the second of her career. She led the Mavericks with 22 points and nine rebounds in a 70-50 win over Florida A&M on Sunday. Shaw added five assists and three steals with just one turnover against the Rattlers. The senior shot 61.5 (8-of-13) from the field and had a 5.0 assist/turnover ratio.
Tough Enough
Five teams on Omaha's non-conference schedule appeared in the postseason last year – Abilene Christian, Colorado State, Creighton, Kansas State and Nebraska. Abilene Christian and Colorado State won conference titles and had a combined record of 57-6 last year. CSU won the Mountain West and played in the NCAA National Tournament, while ACU won the Southland Conference regular-season title and appeared in the WNIT. Kansas State finished the 2015-16 season 19-13 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Creighton and Nebraska also earned berths in the WNIT.
On Top of the Summit
Omaha is second in the league in assists (16.5), rebound margin per game (+4.3) and opponents' field goal percentage (.388). The Mavericks are third in 3-pointers made (8.4), 3-point attempts (22.8) and defensive rebounds (26.7).
Mikaela Shaw ranks fifth in the league in points per game (15.2) and is second in rebounds per game (7.9). Marissa Preston is tied for first in 3-point field goal percentage (.500).
Leading the Way
Mikaela Shaw leads the Mavericks in points (15.2), rebounds (7.9), assists (3.8), blocked shots (0.6) and minutes played (30.7) per game. Shaw collected her 22nd career double-double against UCF earlier this season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. She scored a season-high 21 points against Wofford. The senior has been in double-figures in 43 straight games.
Double-Double
Courtney Vaccher tallied her first career double-double against UMKC. The sophomore post set career highs in points (17) and rebounds (11). She also blocked two shots. This season, Vaccher is averaging 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Hot at Home
Remy Davenport, a native of Blue Springs, Mo., scored a season-high 21 points against UMKC. So far this season, she has done a little bit of everything this year for Omaha. The junior guard averages 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Earlier this season, she dished out six assists against Lincoln University and Wofford which tied her career best.
Hitting the Boards
Moriah Dapprich snagged a career-high 11 rebounds against Lincoln University. It's the first time this season that the junior has reached double-figures in rebounds.
Bridge Work
For the second time this season, Jay Bridgeman reached double-figures for the Mavericks. The redshirt freshman scored a career-best 11 points against Creighton. Earlier in the month, she scored 10 points along with five rebounds and a blocked shot against Lincoln University.
Brecht from Deep
Ellie Brecht scored a career-best 22 points against Lincoln University. The sophomore guard went 8-of-13 from the field including a 6-of-10 effort from 3-point distance. Brecht added two more treys against Kansas State. She is now 19th all-time in made treys with 64 and needs four more to move past Ashley Freerksen (2005-06) into 17th place.
Arc Madness
Omaha has made 101 3-pointers through 12 games while shooting 36.9 percent from deep. Every player on the roster has connected on at least one trifecta. UNO has made 10 or more threes six times this season.
Shaw-some
Mikaela Shaw has two double-doubles this season and 23 for her career. The senior forward had 17 points and 13 rebounds against UCF on Dec. 20. Since the transition to NCAA Division I, only Shaw and Paige Frauendorfer have over 10 double-doubles. Frauendorfer accomplished the task 17 times in two seasons at the Division I level.
Super Sub
Marissa Preston has appeared in every game averaging 19.3 minutes per game. Preston is shooting 46.5 percent (20-of-43) from the field and 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Top 10 Performer
Mikaela Shaw has cracked the top 10 in all-time scoring and rebounding this season. She passed Alyssa Green (2006-9) for eighth place on the career scoring chart with 1,452 points and is closing in on Jennifer Mitchell's 1,487 points for seventh place. Shaw passed former teammate Paige Frauendorfer (2009-12) for seventh place and is 99 rebounds shy of catching Laura Anderson (1984-87) for sixth place.
Shaw is the program's all-time leader in defensive rebounds with 544, surpassing Tanya Hammes' (1999-2002) mark of 502. She needs only 21 offensive boards to set the career record.
Davenport from Downtown
Remy Davenport averaged 10.3 points per game and was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Summit League last season. She leads the team with 26 3-pointers this season and has connected from deep in 11 games this season.
The junior guard has made 153 career 3-pointers to rank fifth in program history and needs 61 more trey's to become the program's all-time leader. She connected on 65 3-pointers and set the UNO single-game record with 10 made treys against Denver on Jan. 17, 2016.
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
Last season, senior forward Mikaela Shaw led the Mavericks in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals (1.6 spg). Shaw earned First Team All-Summit League honors and was a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
She became the 18th player in program history to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds.
Dapprich Ready to Debut
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. 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. 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 program 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
Omaha finishes non-conference play on Sunday, Jan. 1, hosting York. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
