OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team will play in The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday, March 4, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The No. 6 seed Mavericks are slated to take on No. 3 seed Western Illinois in a quarterfinal game at 2:30 p.m.
How to Follow the Mavericks
The game will be televised regionally by YurView, and Donny Baarns will have the call on 1180 AM Zone 2. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
About the Omaha Mavericks
• Omaha is 12-15 overall and 3-11 in Summit League action.
• Junior guards
Amber Vidal (13.2 points and 3.7 assists per game) and
Jess Walter (10.3 points per game) lead Omaha in scoring this season.
• Junior center
Courtney Vaccher leads Omaha in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg), and the Summit League in field goal percentage (.636).
• Freshman guard
Claire Killian leads Omaha in steals per game (1.4 spg).
• UNO won seven straight games from Nov. 17-Dec. 6, its longest winning streak since the 2007-8 season.
• This season Vidal has led the Mavericks in scoring 14 times while Vaccher led four times.
• Three Mavericks have had at least one 20-point scoring performance this season with Vidal going for 20+ eight times.
• Vaccher led UNO in rebounding 17 times this season, grabbing a season-high 13 four different times.
• Omaha shot .500 or better as a team in three straight games from Nov. 30-Dec. 6 and four times overall this year.
• The Mavericks were picked fifth in the league's 2017-18 preseason poll.
• Omaha returned two of five starters from last season's team, Vaccher and Vidal.
• UNO also returned Brecht and junior guard
Kalen Phillips, along with sophomore forward
Jay Bridgeman.
• Walter and sophomore
Sara Echelberry return to action after redshirting in 2016-17.
• The Mavericks welcomed six newcomers in juniors
Alicia Mountain and
Romekia Wallace, and freshmen
Kylee Coulter,
Emily Dewey,
Claire Killian and
Emily Petersen.
About the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks
The Fighting Leathernecks concluded the regular season with a 21-8 overall record and finished third in The Summit League with a 10-4 mark.
Emily Clemens led WIU in scoring (18.1 ppg), assists (7.8 apg) and steals (3.2 spg) this season. Taylor Higginbotham added 16.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Morgan Blumer scored 14.7 points per game this season.
As a team, Western Illinois averages 82.2 points, 38.3 rebounds and 18.3 assists per game. Their opponents average 66.5 points, 42.9 rebounds and 15.3 assists.
Head coach JD Gravina is in his seventh season leading the Western Illinois program with a record of 120-95. His career mark over 13 seasons is 233-156.
Series History
Sunday is the 15th all-time meeting between Omaha and Western Illinois. The Fighting Leathernecks lead the series 11-4 and swept the regular season series this season. WIU topped UNO 90-51 on Jan. 13 in Omaha, and then 103-68 in Macomb, Ill., on Feb. 7.
Connect with the Mavericks on Social Media
Fans are encouraged to connect with the Mavericks on Facebook (OmahaWBB), Instagram (@OmahaWBB) and Twitter (@OmahaWBB). They are also encouraged to use #MaverickUprising in posts.
2018 Summit League Women's Basketball Championship Field Set
The field is set for this weekend's 2018 Summit League Women's Basketball Championship, with eight teams competing March 3-6 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The tournament champion advances to the NCAA Tournament as the league's automatic bid. Tickets for the event can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or in person at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Box Office.
2018 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Saturday, March 3 • Quarterfinals
Game 1 (Noon) - No. 1 South Dakota vs. No. 8 Fort Wayne (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Game 2 (2:30 p.m.) - No. 2 North Dakota State vs. No. 7 North Dakota State (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Sunday, March 4 • Quarterfinals
Game 3 (Noon) - No. 4 Denver vs. No. 5 Oral Roberts (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Game 4 (2:30 p.m.) - No. 3 Western Illinois vs. No. 6 Omaha (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN/YurView)
Monday, March 5 • Semifinals
Game 5 (Noon) - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 3 (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Game 6 (2:30 p.m.) - Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4 (Midco/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Tuesday, March 6 • Championship
Game 7 (1 p.m.) - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (ESPNU/ESPN3/WatchESPN)
