DENVER, Colo. – The Omaha women's basketball team capped the 2018-19 season on Saturday, falling 82-76 to Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium.

Leaders for Omaha
Three Mavericks scored in double figures, led by a double-double from Elena Pilakouta, who had a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds with 10-of-14 shooting.  Claire Killian hit 6-of-14 from the field en route to 17 points, and Sophie Johnston was 5-of-7 for 13 points, five assists and two boards.

Rayanna Carter added seven points and seven assists, and Mariah Murdie rounded it out with seven points, three rebounds and a blocked shot.

Leaders for Denver
Three Pioneers finished in double figures, paced by a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds from Madison Nelson.  Claire Gritt had another 15 points, and Samantha Romanowski added a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards.

Team Stats
Omaha shot 44.6 percent (39-of-65) as a team, while Denver shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the floor.  The Mavericks connected on a season-best 11 3-pointers while limiting the Pioneers to only seven.  DU finished the game at 70.8 percent (17-of-24) at the free throw line, while UNO converted 70.0 percent (7-of-10) at the stripe.  Denver held a 48-30 advantage on the boards. 

Inside the First Half
Denver jumped out to an early 9-6 edge in the opening three minutes of the quarter.  Omaha fought back, cutting the deficit to 12-11 on a Johnston 3-pointer with 3:46 remaining.  DU closed the period on a 10-4 run to lead 22-15 after the opening 10 minutes.

Omaha pulled to within 30-28 with 6:17 left in the second quarter on Killian's third trey of the period.  A pair of Nelson free throws pushed the advantage back to four points, but Killian nailed her fourth triple of the stanza to make it 32-31 at the 5:31 mark.  The Mavericks kept things within striking distance the remainder of the quarter and trailed 39-37 at the half.

Inside the Second Half
Omaha tied the game at 40-40 in the opening minute of the second half on a Pilakouta bucket.  Nelson briefly put the Pioneers back in front before the Mavericks scored four straight to take their first lead of the game at 44-42 with 7:56 left in the period.  Denver wrestled the momentum away from Omaha by holding the Mavericks scoreless over the next 6:17.  During the span, Romanowski scored six points as the Pioneers pushed the lead to 54-44.  Back-to-back buckets from Johnston and Pilakouta got UNO within six late in the period, before a Gritt layup made it 56-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

Nelson scored four quick points for Denver to open the fourth quarter and push the lead back to double-digits.  The Mavericks responded with a 10-4 run to get within 4 points with 6:14 remaining in regulation.  DU extinguished the comeback attempt with a 14-5 spurt to lead 78-65 with under two minutes left.  Murdie hit a 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock to make the final 82-76.

News and Notes
• With the loss, the Mavericks moved to 8-21 (2-14 Summit League), while the Pioneers close the regular season at 17-12 (10-6) and secure a No. 3 seed for the conference tournament next week.
• Pilakouta had her second-straight double-double tonight.  She also set a season-high with 21 points.
• Killian hit a career-high five 3-pointers against Denver.
• Carter set a season-high with seven assists.