BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The Mavericks came up just short in a wild, back and forth game with CSU Bakersfield that ended 69-68 after a razor thin overtime Sunday afternoon.

Omaha is back at .500 on the season at 4-4, going 1-1 in their California road trip after beating Pepperdine 56-51 last Thursday. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners are now 2-2 to start, winning their first home game of the season.

Leaders For Omaha 
Kennedi Grant was Omaha's top scorer as she tied her career best with 17 points today, shooting 5-for-15 (.333) and going 7-for-9 (.778) on free throws. She also paced the team with eight total rebounds.

Jaylen Townsend and Aaliyah Stanley were tied for second in scoring with nine points each. Townsend was one of only two Mavericks today with a three-pointer, the other being Sam Mitchell. 

Elena Pilakouta saw her consecutive double-digit scoring streak end today with eight points. She set a new career best against Pepperdine with her seventh double-digit scoring game in a row.

Leaders for Bakersfield
Four Roadrunners scored at least 10 points, led by Sophia Tougas with 17 and followed by Taylor Caldwell (15), Kayla Morris (13), and Simone Johnson (10). Tougas, Morris, and Johnson were also tied for the team lead in rebounds with six apiece. 

Team Stats 
Despite being outshot on field goals (24-for-71, .338 vs. 24-48, .500) and 3-PT FGs (2-for-21, .095 vs. 7-for-17, .412), Omaha was able to keep the game close thanks in no small part to a superior free throw percentage (18-for-23, .783 vs. 14-for-21, .667). 

The Mavericks also held a significant advantage in rebounds (41 vs. 34) and steals, picking up 13 and turning it over 17 times, while the Roadrunners only had five steals and turned it over 25 times.

Inside the First Quarter 
Omaha fell into an early 7-0 hole by 7:34 to start the day. From there, however, it was all Mavericks as Grace Cave when coast to coast with a steal and fast break layup to get them on the board. A Pilakouta jumper and a pair of free throws from Stanley got Omaha within one, before the Roadrunners broke the 6-0 run to go up 11-6. 

With just over two minutes to go, the Mavericks were not done yet as they scored seven unanswered to go up by two at the end of the period. Grant had a jumper and a free throw, while Mitchell went 2-for-2 from the foul line.

Inside the Second Quarter 
The Mavericks came out strong in the second period with a couple of quick jumpers from Townsend and Morgann Gardner to go up 17-11 at 8:40. While the Roadrunners were able to tie up the game at 17-17 after four points from Kayla Morris and a layup from Simone Johnson, Omaha took an effective timeout and proceeded to light up the court in the final five minutes.

Mitchell put up five on back-to-back jumpers within 30 seconds of each other, before Grant scored a pair of layups and Gardner a couple of free throws to make it 30-22 at the half.

Inside the Third Quarter 
Following a red-hot first half, the Mavericks started off slowly in the third quarter. Bakersfield blanked Omaha over the first four and a half minutes as they went on a 13-0 scoring run. Grant got Omaha back on the board after driving through five Roadrunners in the lane for a layup.

Grant would get another basket and a free throw later in the period, while Ana Nikulochkina made a miraculous layup as she was fouled in the air at 1:29, sinking the and one immediately after. Polina Nikulochkina would follow her sister and close out the period with two from the charity stripe.

Inside the Fourth Quarter 
After an early Roadrunner turnover, Cave opened up scoring in the fourth with a jumper at 9:29. Grant would then get a steal to keep CSUB off the board and later make a free throw to get Omaha within two. Townsend then tied the game at 48-48 on an inbound pass from Cave at 7:34. 

The Roadrunners quickly responded with seven unanswered to go up 55-48. Fortunately, layups from Townsend and Stanley made it 55-53, before Stanley had the biggest steal of the day to set up Pilakouta for the go-ahead layup at 1:24. After the Roadrunners again pulled ahead by one, Townsend drained a three to make it 59-57 at 0:36. The lead was short lived, however, as Taylor Caldwell tied up the game just four seconds later to ultimately send it to overtime.

Overtime
It was deadlocked all throughout overtime as neither team was able to truly pull ahead. The score wound up being tied four times in the final five minutes at 61-61, 63-63, 64-64, and 66-66. Grant was the one who tied it at 66-66 with two free throws, before making it 68-66 on two more with just 54 seconds left.

In the end, though, Bakersfield would take the lead and hold it with only nine seconds remaining on a Sophia Tougas three-pointer.

Next Up 
The Mavericks close out their road trip this Friday when they head to Columbia, Missouri to take on Mizzou at 11:30 a.m.