OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's basketball team completed its regular season sweep over North Dakota on Senior Day with a 75-72 victory over the Fighting Hawks on Saturday at Baxter Arena.
The series sweep over North Dakota is Omaha's first Summit League regular season sweep for the Mavericks since 2017-18.
The win moves the Mavericks to 4-11 (3-7 Summit League) while the Fighting Hawks drop to 2-19 (2-13).
Leaders for Omaha
Claire Killian scored a game-high 23 points while shooting 50 percent from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range.
Sarah Schmitt shot 8-of-12 from the floor to tie her career-high with 18 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Elena Pilakouta had 10 points, followed by seven points from
Mariah Murdie and six points apiece by
Josie Filer and
Sophie Johnston.
Leaders for North Dakota
Megan Zander had a game-high 23 points and shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-6 from long distance. Kacie Borowicz scored 21 points help the Fighting Hawks while Olivia Lane and Maggie Manson added eight and seven points, respectively.
Team Stats
Omaha shot 47.5% (28-of-59) to North Dakota's 43.1% (25-of-58). The Mavericks edged the Fighting Hawks in rebounding, 38-36. Omaha tallied 17 assists on 28 field goals and led for a total of nine minutes in the game. UND shot 9-of-16 from beyond the arc and led for 26:53 of the game.
Inside the First Quarter
North Dakota had the lead for the entire quarter, expanding the lead to as many as eight on a layup by Lane. Schmitt scored on a pair of layups in the final 52 seconds to bring the Mavericks within four, 22-18, at the end of the first quarter.
Schmitt came out firing on all cylinders, leading Omaha with eight points while shooting a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor.
Inside the Second Quarter
The two teams played a nearly identical second quarter as the Mavericks shot 6-of-15 from the field and scored 16 points while UND had 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Borowicz posted seven points to pace North Dakota as the Fighting Hawks held a 38-34 lead at the half.
Inside the Third Quarter
Trailing 44-39, Killian drilled a pair of free throws, followed by three-pointer on the next possession to tie the game at 44 with 7:44 left. The next six minutes featured UND and Omaha exchanging scores before Killian and Murdie combined to score the final five minutes of the quarter in the last minute to give the Mavericks a 53-49 lead.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
North Dakota took the lead on two straight scoring possessions before forcing Omaha into a shot clock violation. The Fighting Hawks followed with a three to grab a 59-55 lead with 7:48 left. A score by Filer and a three-pointer by Killian led the Mavericks to a one-point lead with six minutes remaining.
Leading 64-63, Johnston hit a trey in the corner on the press break to stretch the Maverick lead to 67-63 with 3:38 left. North Dakota got within 69-67 with 2:08 left before an old-fashioned three-point play by Schmitt gave Omaha a 72-67 lead with 32 seconds left. UND missed a game-tying three-point attempt with five seconds left, allowing the Mavericks to come away with the 75-72 victory.
What's Next
Omaha wraps up the regular season next weekend at Denver. The Mavericks and Pioneers take the court on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27. Tipoff for both games is set for 2 p.m. CT.
