This Week
The Omaha women's basketball team visits North Dakota State this Wednesday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D., and the game will be broadcast live on Midco and ESPN3 with Brian Shawn on play-by-play and Greg Stemen providing analysis. Donny Baarns will also have the radio call on 1290 KOIL, and fans can stream audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “News Talk 1290 KOIL." Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Maverick Notes
• The Omaha Mavericks enter Wednesday at 8-10 overall and 1-4 in Summit League play after falling to South Dakota last Saturday, 60-52.
• Senior forward Mikaela Shaw leads the team and the Summit League in rebounding with 8.2 rebounds per game. Shaw also leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with 16.2 points per game.
• Junior guard Remy Davenport leads the team and is fifth in the league with a 2.0 assist to turnover ratio.
• Freshman forward Jay Bridgeman tops UNO with a .646 (31-of-48) field goal percentage and teammate sophomore center Courtney Vaccher is next with a .596 (53-of-89) percentage.
• As a team, the Mavericks are averaging 68.2 points per game while giving up 62.5 per game. Omaha is outrebounding the opposition, 38.2 to 32.7. UNO's 38.2 rebounds per game are tops in the Summit League.
• In Summit League play only, Omaha limits its opponents to a 38.0 percent field goal percentage, the lowest in the league. Also, the Mavericks hold the opposition to a 30.1 percent from 3-point range, second in conference play.
Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State is 5-13 (3-2 Summit League) on the year after an 110-81 lost at Western Illinois last Saturday. Taylor Thunstedt leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game, while Brianna Jones paces the team with 7.9 rebounds per game. Sarah Jacobson leads the Bison in assists with 3.9 assists per game and averages 10.6 points per game. Anna Goodhope leads the Bison in field-goal percentage at 56.3 percent (18-of-32).
Head coach Maren Walseth is in her third season with the Bison and has a career mark of 23-53. Wednesday evening marks the 59th all-time meeting between Omaha and North Dakota State. NDSU leads the series, 44-14, and won the last meeting, 74-67, last year in Fargo (2/14/16).
Omaha Quick Hits
• Two Omaha starters average double-digit scoring: Mikaela Shaw (16.2) and Michaela Dapprich (12.5).
• Shaw became the seventh player in school history to reach the 1,500 points and 800 rebounds milestone.
• Three of Omaha starter's average double-figure scoring in Summit League play: Shaw (18.4), Dapprich (18.2) and Remy Davenport (10.2).
• The Mavericks finished 7-6 in non-conference play, marking their second straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.
• 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.
• Shaw made her 104th consecutive appearance and reached double-figure in scoring for the 49th straight game.
• Head coach Brittany Lange has used two different lineups through the first 18 games this season.
• Shaw earned her first Summit League Player of the Week award of the season on Dec. 19.
• Twelve different Omaha players have had at least one 3-pointer this season. As a team, UNO is shooting 36.4 percent (151-of-415) from long-range.
• Nine different Mavericks have scored in double figures over the first 17 games this year.
• Shaw has had a double-double five times this season. Sophomore center Courtney Vaccher is the only other Maverick to accomplish the feat this season.
• Omaha returns eight letterwinners from its 2015-16 team, including three starters in Mikaela Shaw, Remy Davenport and senior guard Abi Lujan.
• The 2016-17 Preseason Summit League Coaches' Poll picked UNO to finish fifth, and Shaw earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team accolades.
• The Mavericks will play 29 games this season, including 12 contests at Baxter Arena and one at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Edged by South Dakota
Omaha was edged 60-52 by South Dakota last Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena.
Mikaela Shaw paced the Mavericks with 22 points, hitting 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Michaela Dapprich added 15 points with three 3-pointers. Abi Lujan added a game-high nine rebounds, while Courtney Vaccher had seven points and seven rebounds.
Allison Arens led South Dakota with 23 points, connecting on 8-of-17 from the field. Abigail Fogg added 13 points, and Jaycee Bradley chipped in 12 points.
The Mavericks shot .314 (16-of-51) from the field, while the Coyotes finished at .377 (20-of-53) from the floor. UNO shot .217 (5-of-23) from long distance, while USD hit .292 (7-of-24) from beyond the arc. Omaha finished at .833 (15-of-18) from the charity stripe, while South Dakota ended the afternoon at .867 (13-of-15).
The first quarter was a back and forth affair. Omaha took an early 6-4 lead on a Dapprich 3-pointer and free throws from Shaw and Vaccher. A 7-1 run gave South Dakota a four-point advantage midway through the quarter. A three from Dapprich and a jumper from Shaw put the Mavericks up four with under a minute left before a layup from Arens cut the lead to 19-17 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
Omaha continued to clamp down defensively in the second quarter, holding South Dakota to just six points on 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) shooting. The Mavericks outrebounded the Coyotes 9-8 in the period to take a 29-23 lead at the halftime break.
Two Shaw free throws early in the third period gave Omaha its largest lead of the afternoon at 33-24. USD responded by holding UNO scoreless over the next 6:09 and took a one-point lead on an Arens layup, 34-33. Four straight points from Shaw put Omaha ahead by three before a three from Arens tied the game at 37-37. A jumper in the paint from Dapprich game Omaha a 39-37 lead at the end of three quarters.
Omaha and South Dakota traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, with a layup from Vaccher putting UNO up four. Back-to-back threes from Fogg and Arens put USD ahead 45-43 with 4:53 left in regulation. A 3-pointer from Dapprich knotted it at 48-all. The Mavericks took their final lead of the night, 50-48, on a Shaw layup. South Dakota then countered with baskets from Fogg and Arens to take a 52-50 lead with 1:22 left. The Coyotes never let the Mavericks back under four for the remainder of the game, taking their largest lead at 60-52 in the final seconds.
Caring is Sharing
As a team, Omaha ranks second in The Summit League and 26th nationally with 17 assists per game. Mikaela Shaw averages 3.9 assists per game and has a team-leading 71 assists. Remy Davenport averages 3.8 helpers per game and has 69 so far this season. Four other Mavericks have 20-or-more assists on the season - sophomore guard Amber Vidal (54), Michaela Dapprich (36), junior guard Marissa Preston (27) and Abi Lujan (22).
Points, points, points
The Mavericks have five players averaging 5.0-or-more points this season. Mikaela Shaw and Michaela Dapprich lead the way averaging 16.2 ppg and 12.5 ppg, respectively. Remy Davenport averages 9.2 points per game followed by Courtney Vaccher's 7.3 ppg. Sophomore guard Ellie Brecht chips in 5.3 points per game.
Ms. 1,500
Mikaela Shaw passed former UNO guard Jennifer Mitchell (1,487 points) to become the seventh player in program history to score 1,500 career points. Shaw recently moved past Jackie Scholten (1983-86) for sixth place with 1, 561points and needs only 22 points to claim a spot in the top five.
The 800 Club
Mikaela Shaw is in sole possession of seventh place in career rebounds. The senior has 814 boards and needs 47 more to pass Laura Anderson for sixth place. Shaw is also the program's all-time leader in defensive rebounds with 584, surpassing Tanya Hammes' (1999-2002) mark of 502. She needs only 10 offensive boards to set the program record.
Perfection
Courtney Vaccher went 11-of-11 from the field against York and IUPUI and missed only one shot from the floor between Dec. 20 – Jan. 5. The sophomore went 4-of-4 at UCF, 7-of-7 vs. York and 4-of-4 vs. IUPUI.
The One to Count on
Mikaela Shaw made her 100th consecutive start on New Year's Day and tied Jennifer Mitchell (1998-02) with 104 games started. The Deweese, Neb., native only needs six starts to tie Lindsey Petersen's record of 110 starts.
Got a Minute?
This season 10 different Mavericks are averaging 10-or-more minutes per game. Mikaela Shaw averages 31.2 minutes per game to lead Omaha. Three other Mavericks – Remy Davenport (30.8 mpg), Michaela Dapprich (25.6) and Amber Vidal (25.3 mpg) – average over 25 minutes per game.
…and Still Counting
Shaw's 22 points against South Dakota last Saturday marked the 49th consecutive game that the senior has scored in double figures. The last time she scored less than 10 points was Feb. 26, 2015 against Fort Wayne.
Dapping
Michaela Dapprich reached double figures 10 times this season and scored 20 or more points three times. She averages 12.5 points per game but averages 18.2 points in conference play.
Winning Big
Omaha's eight wins have come by an average margin of 32.6 points this year. The Mavericks have won by 20 twice this season and have beaten the opposition by at least 49 points on two occasions.
UNO's 106 points were the most scored in a single game this season eclipsing the 98 points scored against Lincoln University on Dec. 1, 2016.
Shaw Selected Summit League Player of the Week
The Summit League named Mikaela Shaw as its women's basketball player of the week for her performance Dec. 12-18. 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.
In the Summit
Omaha is one of the strongest defensive teams in the Summit League, holding the opposition to the conference's lowest shooting percentage (.380) and allowing only 62.5 points per game.
UNO is second in rebound margin (+5.6), field goal pct. (.438), 3-pointers attempted per game (23.1), defensive rebounds per game (27.0) assists per game (17.0) and opponent's 3-point pct. (.301).
Mikaela Shaw leads the league in defensive rebounds (110), total rebounds (147) and rebounds per game (8.2). She is third in assists (71) and the top five in four other categories.
Leading the Way
Mikaela Shaw leads the Mavericks in points, rebounds, assists (3.9), blocked shots (0.6) and minutes played per game. Shaw collected her 26th career double-double against Western Illinois. She scored a season-high 24 points against IUPUI and grabbed a season-best 14 boards against Indiana State.
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.
In the Paint
Courtney Vaccher tallied her first career double-double against UMKC. The sophomore post set career highs in points (17) and rebounds (11). This season, Vaccher is averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She is second on the team with a .596 (53-of-89) field goal percentage.
Remy of All Trades
This season Remy Davenport is doing a little bit of everything for the Mavericks. The Blue Springs, Mo., native is averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Davenport set a career record with eight assists against Western Illinois and scored a season-high 21 points against UMKC.
Bridge Work
Jay Bridgeman leads the team with a .646 (31-of-48) field goal percentage. She has scored in double figures three times this season. Bridgeman had double-digit games against Creighton (11), York (11) and Lincoln University (11).
Br3cht 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 18th all-time in made treys with 68 and needs two more to move past Ashley Freerksen (2005-06) into 17th place.
Arc Madness
Omaha has made 151 3-pointers through 18 games while shooting .364 percent from deep. Every player on the roster has connected on at least one trifecta. UNO has made 10 or more threes eight times this season.
Davenport from Downtown
Remy Davenport the Mavericks with 39 3-pointers this season and has connected from deep in 16 games this season.
The junior guard now ranks fourth in program history with 166 career treys. She needs 49 more treys 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.
Super Sub
Marissa Preston has appeared in every game averaging 16.8 minutes per game. Preston is shooting .483 percent (28-of-58) from the field and .463 percent (19-of-41) from beyond the 3-point arc.
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). Marissa Preston appeared in 30 games with three starts and averaged 2.7 points per game last season.
Leader of the Pack
Last season, 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 making 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 –Courtney Vaccher and redshirt junior guard Moriah Dapprich – 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.
Mavericks Announce 2017-18 Signing Class
Omaha announced its four-member 2017 signing class, as Kylee Coulter (Fayetteville, Ark./Fayetteville), Emily Dewey (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/ Westwood Collegiate), Claire Killian (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) and Emily Petersen (Omaha, Neb./Bellevue West) have all signed National Letters of Intent.
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 returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 21, visiting Denver. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo., and Donny Baarns will have the radio call on 1180 Zone 2, and links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
