Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Mavericks beat the CSU Bakersfield Runners in overtime 87-79. After a 9-0 lead at the start of the game, the Mavericks never gave up the lead and paced the game through OT. 

Omaha improves to a 2-4 overall record on the season. 
 
Leaders For Omaha
Monday night's game contained 10 different scorers with three in double-digits. The game was paced by Polina Nikulochkina with 21 points. Alongside her was Kennedi Grant with 18 and Grace Cave with 13. P. Nikulochkina went 6-of-9 on field goals, 7-of-8 on free throws, and a perfect 2-of-2 on three-pointers. Grant led with eight rebounds and six assists. Cave got the lone block of the game and led with two steals.  
 
Leaders for CSU Bakersfield
Shaunae Brown and Julia Riley both put up a team-high of 20 points. Also in double-digits was Amourie Porter with 18 and Jordan Olivares with 12. Olivares led with five steals and five assists.

Team Stats
Omaha out-shot the Runners on field goals 46.7% (28-of-60) to 44.1% (33-of-68). The Mavericks also topped their three-pointer (43.5%, 10-of-23 vs. 35.5%, 11-of-31) and free throw percent (75%, 21-of-28 vs. 57.1%, 8-of-14). 

Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks set the tone early with the first basket of the game with a layup by Katie Keitges with 9:28 on the clock. Omaha went on a 9-0 run getting an early lead over CSU Bakersfield. Grant sunk two back-to-back jumpers in the paint in the last minute to put the Mavericks ahead by seven at the end of the first quarter. 

The first bucket for the Runners was a three-point jumper scored at 5:13 by Jseije Ortiz. CSU Bakersfield only the Mavericks within a three-point margin twice, both coming from 3-point range. The Runners were led in the first by Shaunae Brown's six points. 
 
Inside the Second Quarter
The Mavericks put up a steady 16 points in the second quarter. With a bucket from behind the arc at 6:02, P. Nikulochkina had put 14 points between the Mavericks and the Runners. The Nikulochkina sisters accounted for 12 of the 16 points during the second and Polina went a perfect 3-of-3 on field goals. Ana Nikulochkina's three-pointer at 5:35 was assisted by P. Nikulochkina. 

CSU Bakersfield matched pace with Omaha also putting up 16 points in the second. They got the first point of the second with a free throw by Porter at 9:51. Porter put up a jumper with two seconds left in the half to close in on the Mavericks 36-29. 

Inside the Third Quarter
Grant had a quick and seamless start to the second half with a three-point bucket assisted by Keitges at 9:44. Omaha opened the third with a nine-point scoring streak, just as they had done to start the game. Aaliyah Stanley's three-pointer assisted by Grant at 2:29 gave the Mavericks a comfy 13-point lead over the Runners. Omaha went a perfect 4-of-4 on the free throw line in the third. Leading the quarter was Ghaifan with six points. 

CSU Bakersfield wasn't able to sink a shot until 7:34 after giving up nine to the Mavericks. A layup attempt by Porter at 1:06 was blocked by Cave. A jumper behind the arc from Brown put the Runner behind the Mavericks by eight to close out the third. 
 
Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Mavericks started off the scoring in the fourth quarter with a free throw by Lucy Ghaifan. Omaha got ahead by 11 after a layup by Grant assisted by Cave at 6:26. Cave added eight of the 17 points in the fourth and tallied one assist and one steal. P. Nikulochkina went a perfect 4-of-4 on the free throw line. 

CSU Bakersfield had their highest-scoring quarter, putting up 25 points. The Runners slowly chipped away at Omaha's lead in the fourth. In the final minute of the game, 11 baskets were scored between the two teams, seven coming from CSUB. After a foul drawn by Ortiz, sent her to the line, the game was tied 71-71. After a steal in the last couple of seconds, the Runners took Omaha to overtime. 

Inside Overtime
Grant drew a foul at 4:23 giving the Mavericks the lead back. A three-pointer behind the arc by P. Nikulochkina with 28 seconds left set the Mavericks up with a ten-point lead. Eight of the 16 points in OT were scored by P. Nikulochkina and Grant added two assists. Stanley didn't miss in OT. She went a perfect 1-of-1 on the three-point field goal and 2-of-2 on the free throw line, totaling five points. 

Next Up
The Mavericks stay home to host UIC this Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.