MACOMB, Ill. - After Thursday's stunning 58-54 comeback win over St. Thomas, the Mavericks had another dramatic come from behind victory on Saturday as they defeated Western Illinois in almost identical fashion at 57-55 to sweep the season series.
Omaha is almost back to .500 as it improves to 11-13 on the season and 6-7 in the Summit League. As for the Leathernecks, they drop to 8-16 overall and 3-10 in the conference.
Leaders For Omaha
Aaliyah Stanley was today's leading scorer with 17 points, including three baskets from behind the arc. In addition to earning her 13th double-digit scoring game, she now has 293 points for the season.
After setting a new career best with eight consecutive double-digit scoring games, Elena Pilakouta saw that streak end on Thursday with nine points. Today, she got back on track and then some with her fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 12 total rebounds.
Grace Cave also reached double digits for the 13th time this season with 11 points, as well as tying her career high with six assists.
Leaders for Western Illinois
Elizabeth Lutz paced the Leathernecks with 16 points and five assists, while Mallory McDermott and Anna Deets each hit double-digits as well at 13 and 10 points, respectively,
Team Stats
The Mavericks outshot the Leathernecks in overall FG% at 38.3% (18-for-47) to 33.9% (19-for-56), and also led them in FT% at 89.5% (17-for-19) to 71.4% (10-for-14). While WIU was better from three, shooting 31.8% (7-for-22) to 22.2% (4-for-18), Omaha made up for it by out-rebounding them 37 to 32, including a crucial 34 to 26 edge in defensive boards.
Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks struck first on a three-pointer from Stanley just a minute in, only to go scoreless over the next four minutes as Western Illinois took a 9-3 lead. Pilakouta managed to finally get Omaha back on the board at 5:27 after fighting off three defenders to make the layup. She followed this up with a defensive board that allowed Cave to score her first bucket of the day a few seconds later to make it 7-9.
That was all the offense Omaha would get, however, as they shot 0-5 and turned the ball over three times over the final five minutes of the quarter as WIU went up 14-7.
Inside the Second Quarter
40 seconds into the period, Western Illinois had grown its lead to 18-7. Pilakouta managed to stop WIU's 9-0 scoring run with a layup and an and-one at 8:32, but the Leathernecks responded with a bucket of their own to make it 20-10.
Trailing by 10, Cave managed to spark a huge rally for the Mavericks with a shot from behind the arc at 7:53, followed by seven straight points from Stanley, including her second three of the day, to tie the game at 20-20 with 4:48 remaining. For the rest of the quarter, both teams traded baskets as the lead changed six times. Pilakouta, Stanley, and Cave each scored two more points as the Mavericks ended the half down by just three at 26-29.
Inside the Third Quarter
Pilakouta had an early layup and another and-one to tie the game at 29-29 just 30 seconds in. Seven seconds later she would put Omaha back on top with her fifth basket of the day. After WIU tied it up again at 31-31, Cave nailed a jumper to put the Mavericks back in front to cap off an eventful first couple of minutes.
Following three scoreless minutes, Stanley drained her third three-pointer of the afternoon to grow Omaha's lead to 36-31. From there, the Leathernecks offense came back alive as they scored six unanswered to retake the lead with 2:25 remaining. Fortunately, this lead was short lived thanks to the first bucket of the day from Katie Keitges and five-straight from the stripe by Sam Mitchell and Pilakouta.
Though WIU would tie it up on a three from Lutz at 1:18, Cave sent the Mavericks into the final quarter with a 45-43 lead as she crossed into double-digits with an easy layup.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Once again, the fourth quarter began with yet another lead change as the Leathernecks scored six straight in the first minute to go up 49-45. A jumper and a free throw from Keitges, followed by a pair from the line by Kennedi Grant would be all the scoring Omaha would get through the first six minutes as WIU outscored them 12-5 to take a 55-50 lead.
With only three and a half minutes left, the Mavericks began to slowly claw their way back as Grant sunk a jumper and later made two from the charity stripe to make it 54-55. Then, with 0:50 remaining, Pilakouta drew a late foul and went 1-for-2 at the line to tie things up at 55-55. Meanwhile, Omaha's defense completely blanked the Leathernecks during this run as they forced three turnovers and had a couple of defensive rebounds.
With the game tied and only eight seconds left, Cave made the play of the day as she jumped high in the air to knock down the inbound pass, gain possession of the ball, and find a wide open Stanley sprinting up the court who took it in for the game-winner.
Next Up
The Mavericks only have five games left as they return home next week to host North Dakota State on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by North Dakota on Saturday at noon.
