BROOKINGS, S.D. - The Mavericks capped off their final road trip of the season with a 54-87 loss to the still undefeated in conference competition South Dakota State Jackrabbits.
Omaha drops to 12-16 on the season and 7-10 in Summit League play as they fall to seventh place in the standings. This sets up the Mavericks for a critical game with Denver next week as the winner of that matchup will claim the sixth seed and a first-round bye in the Summit League Tournament.
Leaders For Omaha
Sam Mitchell led the Mavericks in scoring for the first time this season as she led the way with 10 points, going 4-for-4 from the line and draining a pair of three-pointers. This is her third double-digit scoring game of the season.
Fresh off scoring a career-high 21 points on Thursday,
Kennedi Grant had her 14th double-digit scoring game of the season as she tied Mitchell with 10 points today.
Elena Pilakouta just missed picking up her sixth double-double of the season as she ended the day with nine points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Leaders for South Dakota State
Paiton Burckhard was top of the Jackrabbits in scoring with 18 points, while Haleigh Timmer led the team with seven rebounds. Paige Meyer led SDSU with five steals as well.
Team Stats
The Mavericks were outshot by SDSU on field goals (45.5%, 30-for-66 to 43.2%, 19-for-44), and 3-PT FGs (39.3%, 11-for-28 to 23.1%, 3-for-13), but did have the edge in FT% at 86.7% (13-for-15) to 64.0% (16-for-25).
Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks were incredibly efficient to start the day, going 4-for-4 on field goals through the first six minutes.
Morgann Gardner kicked things with back-to-back buckets, followed by
Ana Nikulochkina driving through the lane for a layup, and ending with a Mitchell three-pointer at 4:32 to get Omaha within one point of the Jackrabbits at 9-10.
However, the Mavericks struggled to find the net over the rest of the quarter and, combined with multiple late turnovers, suddenly found themselves in a prolonged scoring drought that culminated in SDSU going up 17-9 by the end of the period.
Inside the Second Quarter
Grant broke Omaha's scoreless run with a quick layup 16 seconds into the quarter. A couple free throws from
Aaliyah Stanley and a jumper from Mitchell would be all the offense the Mavericks got over the next five minutes, though, as the Jackrabbits retook control of the court and soon went up 30-16.
Twice the Mavericks were able to cut the deficit down to 11 over the final minutes of the half, first after four straight from the line by Pilakouta and Mitchell, and later on another Pilakouta free throw and a layup from Nikulochkina. Both times, however, SDSU drove right back uo the court to regrow their lead, ending the half with a buzzer beater to go up 39-25.
Inside the Third Quarter
Grant again got Omaha on the board first in the period, sinking a pair from the line, but once again SDSU immediately responded and scored seven unanswered to take a 46-27 lead by 7:23. Though the Mavericks were able to keep the Jackrabbits from scoring any field goals for the next four minutes, three straight fouls led to five SDSU free throws which prevented Omaha from truly getting into a rhythm on offense.
Despite the best efforts from Grant and Mitchell, both of whom crossed into double-digit points during the period, SDSU's offense picked up again over the final three minutes as they ended the quarter with a 26-point lead.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Mavericks struck first in the fourth on a pull up jumper from Gardner which was later followed by a three from Stanley. After a couple of buckets from SDSU,
Grace Cave came up with a huge block, grabbed the rebound, and took it coast-to-coast on the fast break.
In the end, these efforts proved to be too little too late as the Jackrabbits held fast to down the Mavericks and remain undefeated in the conference.
Next Up
The Mavericks only have one game left this season as they return home to host Denver on Saturday, February 25 at 12:15 p.m. for a crucial Senior Day matchup to decide which team will claim the sixth seed.
