MANHATTAN, Kan. -- The Omaha women's basketball team staged another fourth-quarter rally but came up short Saturday afternoon, falling 66-59 to Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum. The Mavericks are now 1-3 on the year, while the Wildcats improve to 4-2.
Leaders for Omaha
Ella Ogier's season-high 18 points led Omaha, as the sophomore made 8-of-12 from floor and added four rebounds. She scored 16 in the second half alone.
Josie Filer had 11 points -- all in the first half -- and
Mariah Murdie chipped in 11 more with a pair of threes for a season-best scoring effort. Murdie added four rebounds and three steals.
Sarah Schmitt also had eight points, four boards and a team-high four assists, and
Elena Pilakouta tallied seven points in her season debut.
Leaders for Kansas State
Ayoka Lee finished with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Christianna Carr had a double-double on 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Sydney Goodson added 10 more points. Rachel Ranke totaled nine points, all on 3-pointers.
Team Stats
Omaha shot 37.7% (23-of-61) to K-State's 39.6% (19-of-48). The Wildcats went to the line 30 times -- including 16 in the fourth quarter -- and outrebounded Omaha 42-27.
The Mavericks' second-half effort contributed to a 30-22 scoring advantage in the paint.
Inside the First Quarter
Filer got the game started with her first three of the day 1:48 in.
K-State shot 53.8% (7-of-13) in the opening quarter and used a 6-of-7 stretch for a 9-0 run put the Wildcats in front 18-8. A Ranke three capped the run and forced an Omaha timeout, but Murdie quickly answered with one of her own to trim it to 18-11 by the end of the quarter.
Inside the Second Quarter
Filer knocked down another three just inside the start of the second quarter to bring the Mavericks within four. She and Murdie combined for Omaha's first 16 points of the game.
Another Filer triple and an Ogier jumper again made it a four-point game with two minutes to the break, and a Pilakouta putback capped the Maverick run at 7-0 and made it 27-25 with a minute to go.
Filer ended the first half with 11 points -- eight in the second quarter alone -- with three triples. Lee had 15 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead K-State.
Inside the Third Quarter
The Mavericks contained Lee in the third quarter, allowing her just two shots while holding her scoreless. The Wildcats suffered a 5:43 scoring drought while Omaha whittled the margin to 37-34 on a bucket from Ogier at 2:33. By the end of the quarter, K-State led 42-36.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Wildcats managed to build to a 49-40 lead with 7:40 remaining, but a three-point play by Ogier quelled the momentum.
Down 51-44, a driving layup from Schmitt and a three-point play by Pilakouta again trimmed the K-State lead to 51-49. Ogier then collected a pass from Filer for a layup, tying the game at 51-51 with 4:51 to go.
K-State used back-to-back threes from Ranke and Carr to start an 8-0 run and maintained a lead the rest of the way.
Omaha shot 53.3% (8-of-15) in the fourth quarter, led by Ogier's 11 points on a 5-of-6 showing.
