OMAHA, Neb. – Five Mavericks finished in double figures, led by a game-high 23 from senior Michaela Dapprich, as the Omaha women's basketball team bested North Dakota State 90-64 Wednesday at Baxter Arena.
The win pushed the Mavericks to 14-14 (7-8 Summit League), while the Bison move to 6-22 (4-11 Summit League) overall.
Dapprich's 23 points came from a 9-of-12 shooting effort from the field, including four three-pointers. Senior forward Mikaela Shaw added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field with six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Junior guard Remy Davenport had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Ellie Brecht chipped in 11 points on four-of-six shooting, including a trio of three-pointers, while junior guard Marissa Preston scored 10 points.
Kennedy Childers led North Dakota State with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Rylee Nudell added 11 points, while Emily Spier had six points and six rebounds.
The Mavericks shot 54 percent (34-of-63) from the floor, while the Bison were 40.6 percent (26-of-64). UNO dominated from long range, connecting on 52 percent (13-of-25) from beyond the arc, while NDSU managed only 24 percent (6-of-25). Omaha hit 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the free throw line, while North Dakota State hit only 66.7 percent (6-of-9).
Omaha took control of the game early with a 10-2 run. Dapprich got things rolling with a three-pointer. Sophomore center Courtney Vaccher followed with a layup and Shaw hit a jumper to make it 7-2. The Mavericks continued to knock down shots from outside, as Dapprich connected on her second trey of the period. North Dakota State found its rhythm late in the quarter, cutting the UNO lead to two points after a pair of Reilly Jacobson free throws. Omaha came right back as Davenport drained two-straight treys to end the quarter, and gave the Mavericks a 25-15 lead after the first 10 minutes.
After giving up the first bucket of the second quarter, UNO went on an 8-2 spurt. The run started with Davenport and Brecht hitting back-to-back threes, and then a Dapprich layup put Omaha ahead 33-19 with 6:50 remaining. A Childers jumper cut the lead to 11 late in the period, but a traditional three-point play from Shaw sent the Mavericks to the locker room with a 47-32.
Omaha opened the second half with a 14-4 scoring outburst to put the game out of reach. Davenport got the roll started with her fourth three-pointer of the evening. Dapprich followed with a three before sophomore guard Amber Vidal knocked down two free throws. Vidal's layup pushed the lead to 25 at 61-36 with 3:38. The offensive onslaught continued the remainder of the period, and Shaw's layup at the end of the period put Omaha out front 71-42 at the end of three quarters.
The Maverick momentum carried over into the fourth quarter as the lead grew to 30 points with 6:49 remaining, 80-50. NDSU responded with a 9-4 spurt cutting the UNO lead to 25 with 3:26 to go. However, a jumper from Brecht and a layup from senior guard Abi Lujan stemmed the comeback attempt. Autumn Ogden's layup in the final minute of play made the final 90-64 in Omaha's favor.
Omaha returns to action for its final regular-season game on Saturday, Feb. 25, hosting Denver. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Baxter Arena, and UNO will honor its three seniors with pregame festivities. 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.
