Chicago, IL. – Elena Pilakouta scored a career-high 32 points and the Mavericks picked up their first win of the season beating the UIC Flames 70-58 on the road Monday night. Omaha improves to 1-4 with the victory in the final game of their season-opening five game road trip.
 
Leaders For Omaha
Pilakouta hauled in eight rebounds to go along with her career-high 32 points. She was very efficient on the night shooting 14-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Grace Cave joined also set a career-high with 13 points including three three-pointers to go along with three assists. Mariah Murdie had a well-rounded night chipping in seven points, 12 rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
Leaders for UIC
Jaida McCloud led the Flames with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Kristian Young joined her in double-digits with 14 points and five assists.
 
Team Stats
It was statistically Omaha's best offensive showing of the season, the Mavericks shot a season-best 47.2 (25-53) from the floor and made a season-high 16 free-throws. UIC shot 32.8 (19-58) from the floor. The Mavericks outrebounded the Flames 45-26 and had a sizable advantage down low, outscoring UIC in the paint 40-22.

Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks once again got off to a quick start, Pilakouta scored a quick six points to give Omaha an early 9-3 lead. After two McCloud free throws, Omaha went on a 10-2 run over the next four minutes getting baskets from five different Mavericks. They would take a 19-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
Inside the Second Quarter
UIC pushed back in the second quarter, opening the period on a 16-5 run to take a 26-24 lead behind eight points from McCloud. The Flames took a 31-27 advantage into the break.
 
Inside the Third Quarter
Buckets from Pilakouta and Cave tied the game back up at 31 early in the quarter. After some back-and-forth baskets the Mavericks took control with a 12-7 run to end the quarter with Pilakouta chipping in seven of those points. They took a 52-46 lead into the fourth, their first lead heading into the final period this season.
 
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Free throws from Lauren Frost and Natalie Bartle and a Mariah Murdie layup pushed the Omaha lead to 58-48 with 5:11 left. UIC countered, cutting the deficit to 59-55 after a Keona Schenck three, but Omaha responded with five more points from Pilakouta to seal the victory on the road.

Next Up
The Mavericks head back to Omaha for their season opener Thursday at Noon against Tennessee State at Baxter Arena. They will then continue their busy week with a Sunday afternoon home contest against Saint Mary with tip-off set for 2 p.m.