Follow The Game
The Omaha women's basketball team is set to take on Western Illinois, Wednesday night in Macomb, Illinois. Wednesday's contest is set to tip off at 6 p.m. and can be heard on 1180 The Zone with Jon Schriner on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks opened Summit League play Dec. 20 on the road against St. Thomas taking down the Tommies 61-55, in the two teams first ever matchup.
• Elena Pilakouta led the way against the Tommies with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Lauren Frost who scored a season-best 12 points and Katie Keitges who scored a career-high 11 points, including three shots from beyond the arc.
• Mariah Murdie's scored in double-digits in six games this season and has led the Mavericks in rebounding in six as well. Murdie also recorded her 750th point and 100th assist against the College of Saint Mary Dec. 5, she is now the Mavericks active career leader in 10 different categories including points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocks and games played.
• Omaha forced 31 Northern Colorado turnovers, recording a season-high 18 steals including five from Natalie Bartle, the most in her career.
• The Mavericks have controlled the paint in their last six games outscoring their opponent down low in all six games by an average margin of 12 points.
• Summit League play starts on the road for the Mavericks with St. Thomas followed by a road contest against Western Illinois December 22nd.
• Omaha was tabbed eighth in the Summit League Preseason Poll. The Mavericks finished last season 7-13 overall with a 4-8 league finish. They earned the eighth seed in the Summit League Tournament last spring and advanced to the Championship game before falling to South Dakota.
Scouting the Western Illinois Leathernecks
• The Leathernecks are coming off a 72-66 win over Denver to open Summit League play to give them a 10-2 record on the season. They are led in scoring by Danni Nichols who is averaging 18.3 points and 4.9 rebounds-per-game and was named the Summit League Player of the Week Dec. 6.
• Head coach JD Gravina is in his eleventh season in charge of the Leathernecks. Gravina is 166-148 in his time in charge and 280-209 in his coaching career.
All-Time Against Western Illinois
Western Illinois leads the all-time series between the two teams 17-6. The two teams split their 2020-21 season matchups with Omaha winning the first one 105-102 in double overtime on Feb. 6 2021 and falling 89-66 the next day, both at Baxter Arena.
