Tipping Off
After dropping their first game of 2023, the Mavericks will look to get back on track when they take on North Dakota State this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Fargo, N.D.

The game can be heard on 1180 The Zone with Jon Schriner on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com.

Quick Hits

• The Mavericks saw their winning streak ended at three on Thursday after opening their road trip with a razor thin 63-65 loss at North Dakota.  Omaha is back to .500 at 8-8 overall, but retains a winning record in the Summit League at 3-2.
• Omaha completely outshot the Fighting Hawks in every category, besting them in FG% (37.9%, 22-for-58 vs. 34.8%, 24-for-69), 3-PT FG% (35.0%, 7-for-20 vs. 26.1%, 6-for-23), and FT% (75.0%, 12-for-16 vs. 61.1%, 11-for-18). 
• After becoming the fourth Maverick to top 100 points last week, Kennedi Grant was Omaha's leading scorer on Thursday with 12 points at North Dakota. Since returning from injury, she has 32 points, shooting 8-for-28 (.286). 
• Aaliyah Stanley became the first Maverick to top 200 points this season as she scored 11 against UND, shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc. In her last four games, Stanley has scored 86 points and picked up 21 rebounds.
• Elena Pilakouta is on the verge of reaching 200 points after scoring 11 on Thursday too, shooting 5-for-8 (.625) to give her 192 on the year. Pilakouta now has 969 points in her career, putting her on the verge of becoming the 27th Maverick in history and fourth in the Division I era to join the 1000 point club.
• Grace Cave set new career highs in assists (46) and steals (31) following Thursday's game. Likewise, she is only 11 points away from setting a new career-high in points with 160 right now.
• The Mavericks enter this game shooting .794 (220-for-270) from the free throw line as a team. Not only is this the best in the Summit League, but it is the sixth best FT% in the entire country. Five different Mavericks have at least 10 free throw attempts with a FT% above 80%: Jaylen Townsend (84.6%), Grace Cave (83.8%), Elena Pilakouta (82.6%), Polina Nikulochkina (81.3%), and Aaliyah Stanley (80.4%).

Scouting the Bison
The Bison are 11-5 this season and have a 5-1 record in conference play, with their only loss being a 93-64 defeat to first place SDSU. They come into this game after a 71-43 win over Denver on Thursday.

Last season, North Dakota State went 11-18 with a 7-11 conference record, making it to the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament where they lost 81-74.
Senior guard Heaven Hamling is NDSU's leading scorer with 255 points (15.9 PPG), ranking her sixth in the Summit League. She also ranks seventh in assists with 59 and fourth in steals with 32. Back in November, Hamling scored a career-high 39 points at Nevada, going a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Junior Forward Emily Behkne paces the Bison with 105 rebounds (6.6 RPG) and 22 blocked shots, the latter being second in the Summit League. She has also scored 139 points (8.7 PPG) and put up back-to-back double-doubles at Central Michigan and UNI earlier this season.

Freshman guard Elle Evans is making a huge impact in her debut season, sitting at second on the team in points (182), PPG (11.4), and FT% (.853, 29-for-34). Evans has already reached double-digit points 12 times, posting a season-high 17 at Central Michigan. 

Head Coach Jory Collins is in his fourth season leading NDSU, owning a 47-51 record in that span. Before coming to Fargo, Collins spent eight seasons at the helm of Division II Emporia State, going 199-56 and claiming five MIAA Championship titles.

All-Time Against North Dakota State
The Mavericks are 18-49 against the Bison, though, they do hold the edge in the Division I era at 11-9. They split the season series last year, taking game one 68-54 thanks to a career day from Cave who scored 25 points and had seven rebounds and five steals. NDSU took the second game 69-53 despite a 19-point performance from Pilakouta.