OMAHA, Neb. -- The Omaha women's basketball program hits the road for its first non-conference tournament of the season. The Mavericks play two games in as many days from Nov. 29-30 at the Southern Miss Invitational.
Omaha takes on VCU at 6 p.m. on the first day, and follows up with a 2 p.m. showdown against Mississippi Valley State on the following day.
QUICK HITS
• Omaha is coming off a 57-40 loss on the road at Northern Kentucky.
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Elena Pilakouta lead the team with 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
• Omaha has never faced VCU or Mississippi Valley State.
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Josie Filer returned to action last week against Northern Kentucky from injury. The sophomore recorded a team-best 7.6 rebounds last season and started all 28 games for the Mavericks as a freshman in 2018-19.
• Omaha aims for its first road win of the season.
SCOUTING VCU
Virginia Commonwealth sits at 2-3 overall. The rams have wins over Appalachian State (66-38) and East Carolina (53-40) with losses to Seton Hall (53-33), then-No. 25 USF (77-55) and Boston College (87-52).
The Rams are paced by the duo of Madison Hattix-Covington and Tera Reed, who averaged 11.8 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. VCU is led by head coach Beth O'Boyle, who is in her sixth season at the helm of the program. VCU was selected as the preseason favorite in the Atlantic 10 poll. The team returned its entire starting five and its top nine scorers from a year ago. The game against VCU will mark just the second-ever A-10 opponent for the Mavericks.
MAVERICKS AGAINST THE A-10
The Mavericks have only played one team from the A-10 in program history. Omaha is 0-2 all-time against Saint Louis. The last time against the Saint Louis, Omaha fell 51-42 inside Sapp Fieldhouse on Nov. 21, 2012.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE
The Delta Devils look for their first win of the season, as the team sits at 0-4 thus far. The team has losses to Ole Miss (72-53), North Alabama (86-60), Murray State (73-66) and Austin Peay (100-82).
Prior to the showdown with Omaha, Mississippi Valley State takes on Southern Miss, the tournament host, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. The Delta Devils are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Ayonna Cotten (14.8), Shelli Thigpin (13.3) and Diamond Wraggs (11.5). Ashley Walker-Johnson is in her third year with the program. Omaha and Mississippi Valley State have never squared off before. The Delta Devils were selected eighth in the SWAC preseason poll out of 10 teams.
OMAHA AGAINST THE SWAC
Omaha is 3-1 against teams from the SWAC. The Mavericks own a 1-1 overall record against Alcorn State and a 2-0 mark against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The last time Omaha faced off against a team from the SWAC was in 2014-15. In that game, Omaha defeated Alcorn State 59-39 on Nov. 15, 2014.
LOOKING AHEAD
Omaha women's basketball returns home for a Dec. 4 matchup against future Summit League foe Kansas City. The Mavericks and Roos square off at 7 p.m. inside Baxter Arena.
