OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team lost its Summit League opener 82-53 to Oral Roberts on Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena.  With the loss, the Mavericks are 8-5 overall and 0-1 in league play.  The Golden Eagles improved to 9-5 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.

Leaders for Omaha
Junior Jess Walter and sophomore Jay Bridgeman paced Omaha with 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Walter finished the afternoon 5-of-15 from the floor, while Bridgeman put forth a 5-of-7 effort from the field.

Freshman Claire Killian chipped in eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Junior Courtney Vaccher added five points, four boards and a blocked shot.

Leaders for Oral Roberts
ORU saw four players reach double figures, led by freshman Maya Mayberry with 21 points.  Senior Faith Ihim added 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals.  Junior Jordan Gilbert scored 14 points with five assists and four boards, while junior Maria Martianez chipped in 10 points.

Team Stats
For the afternoon, ORU shot 59.6 percent (34-of-57) from the floor while UNO finished at 44.7 percent (21-of-47).  The Golden Eagles held a 31-18 advantage on the boards and outscored the Mavericks 46-28 in the paint.  Oral Roberts forced 17 Omaha turnovers, scoring 23 points off miscues.

Inside the First Half
Oral Roberts opened the game on a 20-2 run, which included 10 points from Mayberry.  The Golden Eagles would build a 29-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The 29 points were the most by an Omaha opponent in the opening quarter this season.

Bridgeman scored five of UNO's 13 points in the second quarter, and the Mavericks outscored the Golden Eagles 13-12 in the second frame to hold a 41-19 lead at the half.  Omaha shot 50 percent (5-of-10) in the second quarter on their way to 40 percent (8-of-20) in the entirety of the opening half.  ORU finished 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the field in the first half.

Looking at the Second Half
Oral Roberts continued its torrid pace in the third quarter, outscoring Omaha 23-15 and shooting 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the period.  Ihim and Gilbert combined for 13 of the 23 points.  Walter paced the Mavericks with six points in the stanza.

Bridgeman and Walter combined for eight of Omaha's 19 points in the fourth quarter, and UNO outscored ORU 19-18.  The Mavericks shot 50 percent (8-of-16) from the field, while the Golden Eagles connected on 69.2 percent (9-of-13) of its shots.

Up Next
Omaha begins a two-game road trip at South Dakota State on Wednesday, Jan. 3.  Game time is 7 p.m., in Brookings, S.D.  The Mavericks then visit Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. CT.