Omaha, NE. – The Omaha Mavericks fell on the road Thursday night at North Dakota 71-57, falling to 5-8 on the season. The Mavericks will return to action on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota against the North Dakota State Bison.
 
Leaders For Omaha
Mariah Murdie led the way for the Mavericks with 20 points, her second 20-point game of the season and seventh game in double digits. She also hauled in 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Grace Cave scored a career-high 18 points including four buckets from beyond the arc in the first half to go along with her team-high five assists.

Leaders for North Dakota
Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks with 17 points, she was one of four players in double-digits. Claire Orth, Olivia Lane and Maggie Manson joined Borowicz in double digits with 15, 12 and 10 points respectively. 

Team Stats
Omaha shot 35.6 (21-59) percent from the field while North Dakota shot at a 50.0 (26-52) percent pace. The Fighting Hawks outrebounded the Mavericks 40-25 and outscored Omaha 30-22 in the paint.

Inside the First Quarter
Both teams shot well in the first quarter, a Sammiyah Hoskin layup gave North Dakota a 16-15 with 2:03 left in the quarter. The Mavericks followed that up with two free-throws from Murdie and a Cave three to take a 20-16 lead into the second.
 
Inside the Second Quarter
North Dakota fought back in the second starting the quarter on a 22-5 run including 10 points from Manson. But the Mavericks would respond with a 10-0 run of their own to cut the North Dakota lead to 38-35 at the break.

Inside the Third Quarter
The Fighting Hawks gradually extended their lead in the third paced by Borowicz, Lane and Orth who scored six, four and four points respectively in the quarter. Murdie paced the Mavericks with five points in the quarter but North Dakota would take a 54-44 lead into the final period.

Inside the Fourth Quarter
North Dakota pulled ahead 66-50 after an Orth layup with 3:05 remaining. A Sam Mitchell three and Murdie jumper would cut the deficit to 11 but the Fighting Hawks sunk their free throws to finish out the victory.

Next Up
The Mavericks will head to Fargo, North Dakota Saturday Jan. 8 to take on North Dakota State with tip-off set for 1 p.m.