This WeekendOmaha returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Denver. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT at Magness Arena in Denver, Colo., and the game will be broadcast live on Altitude and Altitude2 with Todd Romero on play-byplay and Greg Lackey providing color commentary. 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.
Maverick Notes
• The Omaha Mavericks enter Saturday at 9-10 overall and 2-4 in Summit League play after an 80-60 victory over North Dakota State Wednesday evening.
• Senior forward Mikaela Shaw leads the team and the Summit League in rebounding with 8.1 rebounds per game. Shaw also leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference in scoring with 16.1 points per game.
• Junior guard Remy Davenport leads the team and is third in the league with a 2.1 assist to turnover ratio.
• Sophomore center Courtney Vaccher leads the team and the Summit League with a .615 field goal percentage (59-of-96). Freshman forward Jay Bridgeman is second on the team with a .596 field goal percentage (31-of-52).
• As a team, the Mavericks are averaging 68.8 points per game while giving up 62.4 per game. Omaha is outrebounding the opposition, 38.1 to 32.9.
• In Summit League play only, Omaha limits its opponents to a .377 percent field goal percentage, the lowest in the league. Also, the Mavericks hold the opposition to a .275 percent from 3-point range, tops in conference play.
Scouting the Denver Pioneers
Denver is 4-15 (1-5 Summit League) on the year after a 72-63 home loss to South Dakota State last Wednesday evening. In the loss, Lauren Loven scored in double digits for the eighth straight game, compiling 20 points on the night, going 7-of-14 from the floor including an impressive 6-of-12 from three-point range. Samantha Romanowski added 10 points for the Pioneers, including three assists and two steals. Jesse Spittel had nine points and two blocks for DU.
For the season, the Pioneers feature three players averaging double-figures, led by Lauren Loven's 13.2 points per game. Jacqlyn Poss (12.2) and Samantha Romanowski (10.9) also score in double digits. Jahla Osborne and Jesse Spittel lead the team with 4.8 rebounds per game.
Head coach Kerry Cremeans is in her fifth season with the Pioneers and has a career mark of 40-103. Saturday marks the ninth all-time meeting between Omaha and Denver. UNO leads the series, 6-2, and won the last meeting 70-60 in Denver on Feb. 27, 2016.
Omaha Quick Hits
• Two Omaha starters average double-digit scoring: Mikaela Shaw (16.0) and Michaela Dapprich (12.9).
• Shaw became the seventh player in school history to reach the 1,500 points and 800 rebounds milestone.
• Dapprich (18.7) and Shaw (17.5) each average double-figures in conference play this season.
• 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 105th consecutive appearance and reached double-figure in scoring for the 50th 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 (162-of-445) from long-range.
• Nine different Mavericks have scored in double figures over the first 19 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: Omaha Overwhelms North Dakota State, 80-60
Omaha never trailed Wednesday night, overwhelming North Dakota State 80-60 at the Scheels Center.
Michaela Dapprich led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor including five 3-pointers, with seven rebounds and two steals.
Mikaela Shaw added 13 points, 7 rebounds, five assists and a steal. She finished 6-of-11 from the field. Courtney Vaccher had 13 points and four boards. Marissa Preston registered 11 points with the help of three 3-pointers and four assists. Abi Lujan and Ellie Brecht each had six points, with Lujan credited for four rebounds and three assists.
Anna Goodhope led North Dakota State with 15 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Taylor Thunstedt added 12 points and six rebounds. Brianna Jones grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
As a team, Omaha shot 46 percent (39-of-63) from the floor to North Dakota State's 36.7 percent (22-of-60). UNO finished 36.7 percent (11-for-30) behind the arc, while NDSU came in at 20.8 percent (5-of-24). The Mavericks shot 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the line, while the Bison managed 64.7 percent (11-of-17). UNO also led in assists, 21-10, and in steals, 9-4.
The Mavericks hit four of their first five shots to open the game to lead 9-3 at 7:06. Omaha went ahead by nine points after Dapprich hit her second 3-pointer of the period with 1:14 left. Vaccher's layup with five seconds left in the quarter made the score 19-10 after the first 10 minutes of play.
Five points from Goodhope to start the second quarter cut Omaha's lead to six points with 7:32 left in the first half. Preston answered with three 3-pointers in a span of 61 seconds to push UNO's advantage to 15 points. NDSU managed to bring the lead back down to 11 points twice in the period but was unable to get closer. The Mavericks held a 40-28 advantage at intermission.
Omaha opened the second half on a 13-2 run to push its lead to 23 points, 53-20. A 3-pointer from Goodhope momentarily stopped the UNO run midway through the quarter. A pair of free throws from Jay Bridgeman and two more from Preston started another run. Back-to-back treys from Dapprich moved Omaha's lead to 30 points with 3:17 left in the period. After three quarters of play, Omaha held a 67-38 advantage over North Dakota State.
The Maverick momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as the lead grew to 33 points with 7:01 remaining, 73-40. North Dakota State responded with a 10-0 spurt cutting the UNO lead to 23 with 5:32 to go. However, a 3-pointer from Remy Davenport and a layup from Shaw stemmed the comeback attempt. Thunstedt made four straight free throws in the final minute of play to make the final score 80-60 in Omaha's favor.
Caring is Sharing
As a team, Omaha ranks second in The Summit League and 22nd nationally with 327 total assists and 24th with 17.2 assists per game. Mikaela Shaw averages 4.0 assists per game and has a team-leading 76 assists. Remy Davenport averages 3.9 helpers per game and has 74 so far this season. Four other Mavericks have 25-or-more assists on the season - sophomore guard Amber Vidal (58), Michaela Dapprich (36), junior guard Marissa Preston (31) and Abi Lujan (25).
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 16.0 ppg and 12.9 ppg, respectively. Remy Davenport averages 8.8 points per game followed by Courtney Vaccher's 7.6 ppg. Sophomore guard Ellie Brecht chips in 5.4 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 1,574 points and needs only eight points to claim a spot in the top five.
Impressive Preston
Marissa Preston scored a season-best 11 points against North Dakota State last Wednesday. Early in the second quarter, the junior guard nailed three straight 3-pointers. She has appeared in every game averaging 17.1 minutes per game. Preston is shooting .477 percent (31-of-65) from the field and .468 percent (22-of-47) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Arc Madness
The Mavericks rank ninth nationally in total 3-pointers made (162) and 14th in 3-pointers made per game (8.5). Their .364 field goal percentage is 32nd nationally and fourth in the Summit League. Every player on the roster has connected on at least one trifecta. UNO has made 10 or more threes nine times this season.
The 800 Club
Mikaela Shaw is in sole possession of seventh place in career rebounds. The senior has 821 boards and needs 41 more to pass Laura Anderson for sixth place. Shaw is also the program's all-time leader in defensive rebounds with 588, surpassing Tanya Hammes' (1999-2002) mark of 502. She needs only seven offensive boards to set the program record.
The One to Count on
Mikaela Shaw made her 100th consecutive start on New Year's Day and now sits fourth all-time in games started with 105. Lindsey Petersen is the career leader with 110 starts.
Got a Minute?
This season nine different Mavericks are averaging 10-or-more minutes per game. Mikaela Shaw averages 31.1 minutes per game to lead Omaha. Three other Mavericks – Remy Davenport (30.4 mpg), Michaela Dapprich (25.7) and Amber Vidal (24.9 mpg) – average over 25 minutes per game.
Nifty 50
Mikaela Shaw has now scored in double-figures in 50 straight games. The last time she scored less than 10 points was Feb. 26, 2015 against Fort Wayne.
Marvelous Michaela
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.
Shaw-me the Way
Mikaela Shaw leads the Mavericks in points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots 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. In that game, the sophomore post set career highs in points (17) and rebounds (11). This season, Vaccher is averaging 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She leads the team and Summit League with a .615 field goal percentage (59-of96).
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 8.8 points, 3.9 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 is second on the team with a .596 (31-of-52) 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 17th all-time in made treys with 70 and needs two more to move past Jill Dau (1985-89) into 16th place.
Downtown
Remy Davenport the Mavericks with 40 3-pointers this season and has connected from deep in 17 games this season.
The junior guard now ranks fourth in program history with 167 career treys. She needs 48 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.
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 62.4 points per game.
UNO is second in rebound margin (+5.2), field goal pct. (.440), 3-pointers attempted per game (23.4), 3-pointers made per game (8.5), assists per game (17.2) and opponent's 3-point pct. (.295).
Mikaela Shaw leads the league in defensive rebounds (114), total rebounds (154) and rebounds per game (8.1). She is third in assists (76) and the top five in four other categories.
Winner, Winner
Omaha's nine wins have come by an average margin of 29 points this year. The Mavericks have won by 20 three times 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.
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 Wednesday, Jan. 25, visiting Fort Wayne. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT at The Jungle in Fort Wayne, Ind., 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.
