OMAHA, Neb. - In their first home game of the 2022-23 season, the Mavericks pulled off a huge, come-from-behind overtime victory over Wichita State as they won 72-67 in one of their biggest non-conference wins in the program's Division I history.

Both Omaha and Wichita State are now 1-1 to start their seasons.
 
Leaders For Omaha
Three Mavericks reached double-digit points today, with Grace Cave leading the way with 18 (6-for-15), followed by Elena Pilakouta with 15 (7-for-11) and Kennedi Grant with 11 (4-for-18). Pilakouta picked up the most rebounds today with eight, followed by Cave with seven. Grant also topped the Mavericks with seven assists, while Polina Nikulochkina made the most free throws with five.
 
Leaders for Wichita State
Shamaryah Duncan (6-for-11) and Trajata Colbert (7-for-11) each posted 17 points for the Shockers, while DJ McCarty led the team in rebounds with 11. 

Team Stats
Omaha shot 35.2% (25-of-71) to WSU's 38.5% (25-of-65). Where the Mavericks really started to pull away was in 3-PT FGs, as they shot 25% (7-28) vs. just 18.8% (3-for-16) for Wichita State. Omaha also gave the ball up just eight times while the Shockers turned it over 21 times, directly leading to 20 points for the Mavericks.

Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks got off to a hot start today, immediately taking a 5-0 lead on a layup from Pilakouta just 24 seconds into the game, and a three-pointer by Aaliyah Stanley. After the Shockers came back and took the lead, Stanley got Omaha back within one point on a pair of free throws at 3:33 to make it 7-8. 

Ella Anciaux would give Wichita State a six-point lead by the end of the period after scoring two field goals and a free throw in the last two and a half minutes.
 
Inside the Second Quarter
The second quarter started off a bit slow for Omaha as the Shockers grew their lead to 20-11 by 5:32. From there, however, the Mavericks completely took over the court as steals from Jaylen Townsend and Cave led to four points within 30 seconds of each other, including two from the charity stripe for Cave. Townsend would sink a free throw of her own to close out the first half, while Nikulochkina also went 2-for-2 from the foul line at 0:50. 

Inside the Third Quarter
The Mavericks carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the second as they completely overwhelmed the Shockers in Q3 to the tune of 19 points, including three 3-PT FGs from Cave and Grant. Cave's first came 19 seconds into the quarter and made it 24-23 Shockers, before she scored another one less than a minute later to put Omaha back out on top at 26-23. After the Shockers retied the game, Grant's shot from behind the arc at 6:36 gave Omaha a 32-29 lead. 

Layups from Sam Mitchell and Pilakouta towards the end of the quarter gave Omaha a 39-36 lead as they ended their first period of the day on top.

Overall, the Mavericks went 7-for-16 (44.44%) on field goals in the quarter, while the Shockers were only 5-for-17 (29.41%) with no three-pointers.
 
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Grant opened up the fourth with her second three-pointer, before adding another at 6:05 to give Omaha its biggest lead of the day at 49-42. With four minutes left in regulation, however, the Shockers went on a huge tear, taking a 55-54 lead by 1:54 after four points each for Trajata and Curtessia Dean.

Eventually, the Mavericks found themselves trailing by three (59-56) with just 21 seconds remaining after a technical foul led to a pair of free throws from Duncan. Then, with just 13 seconds left, Cave took a long pass from Grant across the court and drained one from downtown on the fast break to send it to overtime. 

Inside OT
The game was as close as ever in overtime, as the score remained tied 65-65 halfway through. Pilakouta gave Omaha a 68-65 lead after banking a layup and making the and one. Wichita State had several late opportunities to retake the lead, but after a couple of costly turnovers and fouls, Nikulochkina and Mitchell were able to ice the game for Omaha on four free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Next Up
The Mavericks will continue their home stand with four home matches in a row, starting with Weber State this Wednesday at 5 p.m.