Tipping Off
Coming off two-straight comeback victories in a road sweep last week, the Mavericks open their final five game stretch in the regular season with a home contest vs. North Dakota State at Baxter Arena this Thursday at 7 p.m. 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 had a couple of dramatic finishes last week, trailing late but surging at the perfect time to overtake St. Thomas and Western Illinois by less than five points each. Against Western Illinois, the game came down to a massive steal by Grace Cave who set up Aaliyah Stanley for the game-winner with just seven seconds left. Omaha is now 11-13 with a 6-7 record in the Summit League as the team has a chance at finishing above .500 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
• On Saturday, 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). Omaha also bested them in total rebounds at 37 to 32, including a crucial 34 to 26 edge in defensive boards. 
• Cave was named the TicketSmarter Summit League Peak Performer of the Week for her efforts in leading Omaha in both of their comebacks. Across both games, she totaled 29 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Cave led Omaha with four assists in its first meeting with NDSU this year. Her 73 assists and 41 steals both rank in the league's top 10.
• Elena Pilakouta had her fourth double-double of the season and 10th of her career on Saturday when she scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. She also continues to climb up the NCAA rankings in FG%, currently placing eighth at 61.5%. Pilakouta is now seventh in the league with 339 points (14.1 PPG) on the season and has 1116 career points, good for 18th all-time in Omaha. At NDSU this year she led the team with 28 points, shooting a perfect 13-for-13. 
• Stanley led the team with 17 points at WIU, bringing her to 293 on the season as she looks to join Pilakouta as the first Mavericks duo to each top 300 points in a season since Mikaela Shaw and Michaela Dapprich in 2016-17. In the team's first meeting with North Dakota State, Stanley racked up 13 points. 
• Kennedi Grant had six points against WIU, shooting 4-for-4 from the line, and now has 217 points this year. She scored 11 points and led Omaha with four steals in their prior game with NDSU.

Scouting the Bison
The Bison are currently second in the Summit League at 14-8 overall and 8-4 in league play. Last week, they downed South Dakota 86-82 in overtime, before falling 82-54 to SDSU on Saturday. In their last game with Omaha this season, NDSU came out on top 83-71 at home, despite being outshot 59.6% (28-for-47) to 45.6% (26-for-57).

Senior guard Heaven Hamling has been one of the league's top players this season, currently ranking in the Summit League top 10 in points (352), PPG (16.0), FG% (.390), assists (80), and steals (47), as well as leading the conference in FT% at .906. Against Omaha this year, she led the Bison with 26 points, three steals, and was tied for the lead in rebounds and assists with six each.

Junior forward Emily Behnke is North Dakota State's top rebounder with 144 total boards and 6.5 RPG, both of which rank in the league's top 10. Back in January, she scored nine points and pulled down six rebounds vs. the Mavericks.

Freshman guard Elle Evans is fourth in the conference with a team-high 28 blocks, while also being the Bison's second-best scorer with 278 points and averages the ninth most PPG in the league with 12.6. She had a then-season high 20 points vs. Omaha earlier this year, as well as six rebounds and two steals.

Head Coach Jory Collins is in his fourth season leading NDSU, owning a 51-54 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 18-50 against the Bison all-time and 11-10 in the Division I era. In their first meeting this year, NDSU led for nearly the entire game en route to an 83-71 win. Morgann Gardner was nearly the fourth Maverick to git double-digit points in that game, scoring eight without missing a shot (3-for-3 on FGs, 2-for-2 on FTs).