This Week
Omaha returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 22, welcoming North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Donny Baarns will have the radio call on The Mighty 1290 KOIL-AM. Fans can stream audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “News Talk 1290 KOIL," and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Maverick Notes
• In the second half of league play, Omaha plays final two regular season games at home.
• Omaha enters Wednesday's contest at 13-14 overall and 6-8 in Summit League play after falling at South Dakota last Saturday, 91-56.
• UNO is in 5th place in the latest Summit League standings.
• Senior forward Mikaela Shaw leads the team and is second in the Summit League in rebounding with 7.7 boards per game. Shaw also leads the team and is fourth in the conference in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game.
• Junior guard Remy Davenport leads the team and is fifth in the league with a 1.9 assist to turnover ratio.
• Junior guard Marissa Preston leads the Summit League with a .500 (39-of-78) three-point field goal percentage.
• Sophomore center Courtney Vaccher leads the team and Summit League with a .609 field goal percentage (81-of-133). Freshman forward Jay Bridgeman is second on the team with a .585 field goal percentage (38-of-65).
• As a team, the Mavericks are averaging 67.7 points per game while allowing 64.9. Omaha is outrebounding the opposition, 36.1 to 32.9.
• In Summit League play only, Omaha limits its opponents to a .418 percent field goal percentage and hold the opposition to a .336 percent from 3-point range, fourth-lowest in the conference.
Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State enters Wednesday's game with a record of 6-21 (4-10 Summit League) after a 76-53 loss in its regular-season home finale to IUPUI. Emily Spier and Sarah Jacobson each had 12 points to lead the Bison.
Taylor Thunstedt averages 15.4 points and 1.2 steals per game to lead the team. Jacobson is next on the team averaging 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Brianna Jones averages 7.5 rebounds per game to lead the team.
Maren Walseth is in her third season at North Dakota State with a career record on 24-61. Wednesday marks the 59th all-time meeting between Omaha and North Dakota State, with the Bison leading the all-time series 44-15. UNO won the last game against NDSU in Fargo on Jan. 18, 80-60.
Omaha Quick Hits
• Two Omaha starters average double-digit scoring: Mikaela Shaw (16.5) and Michaela Dapprich (13.1).
• Shaw became the only player in school history to surpass the 1,700 points, 875 rebounds 300 assist milestone.
• Shaw (17.6) and Dapprich (15.6) average double-figures in conference play this season.
• UNO has held its last two of its last three Summit League opponents to under 50 points.
• The Mavericks finished 7-6 in non-conference play, marking their second straight season finishing .500 or better against non-conference opponents.
• Nine of Omaha's 13 wins this season have been by 20 points or more, and UNO has won those nine games by an average margin of 29 points.
• 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 113th consecutive appearance against South Dakota.
• Head coach Brittany Lange has used three different lineups through 27 games this season.
• Shaw earned her first Summit League Player of the Week award of the season on Dec. 19.
• Every player on the active roster has made at least one 3-pointer this season. As a team, UNO is shooting .352 percent (219-of-622) from long-range.
• Nine different Mavericks have scored in double figures in 27 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 Fall at South Dakota on Saturday
VERMILLION, S.D. – Omaha team fell to South Dakota, 91-56, on Saturday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
Michaela Dapprich had a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. She added four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Marissa Preston had 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Mikaela Shaw added six points, four rebounds and two assists.
Ciara Duffy had a team-leading 17 points for South Dakota. Duffy shot 7-of-11 from the field with seven rebounds and three assists. Abigail Fogg added a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, while Madison McKeever hit four three-pointers en route to 14 points. Allison Arens had 13 points, five assists and four rebounds. Jaycee Bradley and Kaye Liveringhouse each chipped in 10 points.
Omaha shot 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from the floor, 26.5 percent (9-of-34) from long range and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the free throw line. South Dakota finished at 61.1 percent (33-of-54) from the floor, 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from beyond the arc and 93.3 percent (14-of-15) from the line.
The Mavericks and Coyotes were tied, 5-5, at the 7:13 mark of the first quarter on a layup from Courtney Vaccher and a three from Preston. South Dakota used a 20-8 over the next six minutes to stretch the lead to 12. Dapprich hit a trey and followed that up with a fast-break layup to trim the lead to 25-18 with under a minute remaining. McKeever connected on a three-pointer in the waning moments of the quarter as the Coyotes led 28-18 after the opening 10 minutes.
USD opened the second quarter on a 9-4 run to make the score, 37-22, at the 5:03 mark. The Mavericks trailed by 19 with under two minutes left in the half, but Omaha scored the final four points of the half and trailed at the intermission, 49-34.
South Dakota opened the second half with a 12-7 spurt to increase its lead to 20 (61-41). A Preston 3-pointer brought the lead to 17, but another 7-0 run from the Coyotes stretched it to a 26-point deficit with 2:41 left in the period. Dapprich put a stop on the run with a three-point play as USD took a 73-47 lead at the end of three quarters.
South Dakota limited UNO to two points in the three minutes of the fourth quarter until a layup by Shaw at 6:35. Two free throws from Megan Bonar with 2:18 to go spotted South Dakota its largest lead of the game, 89-53. Six different Coyotes scored in double-figures, helping USD to the 91-56 decision.
Mavericks at Home
This season Omaha holds a 7-4 mark inside Baxter Arena. The Mavericks finished non-conference play with a 4-1 homer record. UNO may have a 3-3 home record in Summit League play, but the three losses have come by a combined total of 13 points. Omaha picked up an 83-82 win over South Dakota State on Jan. 28. The Mavericks finish the 2016-17 season by playing three of their final four games at home.
Getting Defensive
Omaha has held two of its last three of its Summit League opponents to 50 points or less. The Mavericks limited Oral Roberts and Fort Wayne to 49 points. It is the fifth time this season UNO's defense has kept its opponents scoring more than 50 points.
All Hands on Deck Against South Dakota State
In Omaha's 83-82 win over the Jackrabbits on Jan. 28, five Mavericks finished in double-figures (Dapprich with 15, Preston with 15, Davenport with 13, Brecht with 11 and Shaw with 10). It was the second time a quintet of Mavericks reached 10 points or more in one contest, the last coming against the Lincoln University on Dec. 1, 2016.
The Shot Heard Around Baxter
Marissa Preston scored 15 points last Saturday against South Dakota State, but her final three were memorable. The junior took a pass from Mikaela Shaw with under three seconds left on the clock and lofted a 3-point shot that banked in to give Omaha an 83-82 win over SDSU.
For the evening, Preston finished 5-of-7 from the floor with five threes. She also dished out five assists on the night.
One of a Kind
Mikaela Shaw became the only player in Omaha women's basketball history to score 1,700 points, grab 875 rebounds and dish out 300 assists. Shaw also ranks fourth all-time in points per game (15.2) and seventh in rebounds per game (7.7).
Caring is Sharing
As a team, Omaha is second in The Summit League and 15th nationally with 448 total assists and 25th with 16.6 assists per game. Mikaela Shaw is third in the conference in assists per game (3.8) and total assists (102). Remy Davenport and sophomore guard Amber Vidal each average 3.3 helpers per game. Davenport has a career-high 88 so far this season, while Vidal set a new career-record with 87. Three other Mavericks have 30-or-more assists on the season - Michaela Dapprich (49), Marissa Preston (47) and Abi Lujan (33).
Points, Points, Points
The Mavericks have six players averaging 5.0-or-more points this season. Mikaela Shaw and Michaela Dapprich lead the way averaging 16.95 ppg and 13.1 ppg, respectively. Remy Davenport averages 8.3 points per game followed by Courtney Vaccher's 7.1 ppg. Marissa Preston chips in 5.6 points per game, while sophomore guard Ellie Brecht adds 5.3 a game.
Ms. 1,700
After scoring 29 points against IUPUI, Mikaela Shaw moved into third place all-time in career points and now has 1,715 points. Shaw passed Laura Anderson's (1984-88) total of 1,658 points. Next up is Barb Hart's (1977-81) 1,730 points. Niece Jochims (1975-79) is the all-time leader with 1,939 points.
Marvelous Michaela
Michaela Dapprich reached double figures 17 times this season and scored 20 or more points five times. She averages 13.1 points per game but averages 15.6 points in conference play. Dapprich went for a game-high 24 last Saturday vs. South Dakota.
Arc Madness
The Mavericks rank 21st nationally in total three-pointers made (219) and 23rd in 3-pointers made per game (8.1). Their .352 three-point field goal percentage is 48th nationally. Every player on the roster has connected on at least one trifecta. UNO has made 10 or more threes 10 times this season.
Omaha set a single-game record by connecting on 16 3-pointers against South Dakota State on Jan. 28.
The 800 Club
Mikaela Shaw moved into sixth place all-time in career rebounds with eight boards against Oral Roberts last Saturday. The senior has 875 boards and needs 51 more to pass Sandy Skradski (1989-93) for fifth place.
The One to Count on
Mikaela Shaw is now the program's all-time leader in games started with 113. She is in a three-way tie for eighth in program history in games played. Kriss Edwards (1977-81) is the career leader in appearances with 127.
Got a Minute?
This season eight different Mavericks are averaging 10-or-more minutes per game. Mikaela Shaw averages 31.9 minutes per game to lead Omaha. Two other Mavericks – Remy Davenport (29.4 mpg) and Michaela Dapprich (26.3) – average over 25 minutes per game.
Streak Ended
Mikaela Shaw saw her streak of 57 streak games in double figures end last Saturday against South Dakota. The Coyotes held the senior to just six points.
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 29 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 grabbed 11 rebounds. Vaccher set a career mark against Fort Wayne with 12 boards. This season, she is averaging 7.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She leads the Summit League and the team with a .609 field goal percentage (81-of-133).
All Little Bit of This and a Little of That
This season Remy Davenport is doing a little bit of everything for the Mavericks. The Blue Springs, Mo., native is averaging 8.3 points, 3.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals per game and 0.7 blocks per game. Davenport set a career record with eight assists against Western Illinois and grabbed a career-best nine rebounds against Denver. Earlier this season, she scored a season-high 21 points against UMKC. Davenport blocked three shots to set her career-best against South Dakota State.
Bridge Work
Jay Bridgeman is second on the team with a .585 (38-of-65) 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).
Downtown
Remy Davenport the Mavericks with 53 three-pointers this season and has connected from deep in 24 games this season.
The junior guard now ranks second in program history with 18 career trifectas. She needs 35 more treys to become the program's all-time leader. She connected on 65 3-pointers as a sophomore and set the UNO single-game record with 10 made treys against Denver on Jan. 17, 2016.
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 moved into 14th place in program history with 80 made threes and needs six more to move into 12th place all-time.
In the Summit
Omaha is second in assists per game (16.6), and 3-pointers attempted per game (23.0). The Mavericks also rank in the top five in 12 other statistical categories.
Mikaela Shaw leads the league in defensive rebounds (153) and field goals made (168). The senior is second in total rebounds (208) and rebounds per game (7.7). She is also in the top five in four other categories.
Winner, Winner
Nine of Omaha's 13 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.
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, Feb. 25, hosting Denver. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and Donny Baarns will have the radio call on The Mighty 1290 KOIL-AM. Fans can stream audio on their smartphones by downloading NRG Media's app “News Talk 1290 KOIL," and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.