Omaha, Neb. - The Omaha Mavericks record a tough loss against the Montana Griz 81-60 Saturday afternoon. 
 
The team falls to 4-11 overall on the season. 

Leaders For Omaha
Omaha was led by the only double-digit scorer Katie Keitges with 17 points going 6-of-11 on the field and 5-of-9 behind the arc. Leading in rebounds was Polina Nikulochkina with six. Three Mavericks notched two assists including Aaliyah Stanley, P. Nikulochkina, and Kennedi Grant. Grace Cave and Deanay Watson each recorded two blocked shots. 
 
Leaders for Montana 
Four Lady Griz hit double-digits today, being led by Carmen Gfeller with 18 going 7-of-10 on the field and 2-of-3 on the line. Dani Bartsch snagged a team-high 11 rebounds and two blocks and Gina Marxen had a team-high four assists. 

Team Stats
Omaha was outshot on field goals 40% (22-of-55) to 47.5% (29-of-61). Though the Mavericks did lead three-point attempts 43.8% (7-of-16) to 29.6% (8-of-27). On the line the Mavericks also best the Lady Griz (69.2%, 9-of-13 vs. 62.5%, 15-of-24)

Inside the First Quarter
Omaha started the game off with a four-point deficit. Before the Mavericks were able to sink a shot Watson made a blocked shot a 8:55. It wasn't until Stanley sunk a three at 8:02 that the Mavericks would get on the board. Following that up were layups by Keitges and Stanley that gave the Mavericks a three-point lead. That was the only lead the Mavericks held during the game. The Mavericks played good three-point defense in the first, holding them to 3-of-9. 

After falling giving up an early lead and falling behind by four Montana crawled back on top and ended up leading by 12 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Griz held Omaha to just 12 total points in the first and only allowed 5-of-14 field goals. 
 
Inside the Second Quarter
The Mavericks had another tough quarter. Their scoring was halted for almost two minutes at a time. Cora Olsen carried the quarter with four points. The Mavericks shot 38.5% from the field in the second, going 5-of-13. Omaha also made five turnovers compared to the one steal they made. 

In back-to-back quarters Montana doubled the score of Omaha. Their scoring was led by Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw with nine points. Of the five turnovers Omaha made, Montana forced four. After another 24-point quarter and good defense of only allowing 12 points, the Lady Griz were up by 24 at the half. 

Inside the Third Quarter
After getting down by 24, Omaha clawed back to only a 16-point deficit. Omaha brought out the intensity in the third, matching the pace with the Griz. Omaha didn't allow a single three by Montana and went a perfect 4-of-4 behind the arc. 

Montana was boosted in the third with the foul trouble by the Mavericks. They attempted 12 free throws, but only made six of them. Though Omaha ran into foul trouble, the Lady Griz did allow Omaha on the line for a single shot. 

Inside the Fourth Quarter
Omaha had their most dominant quarter, but it wasn't enough to catch up to Montana. The Mavericks only made two turnovers and made two big blocks by Cave. Though shooting perfectly on three from behind the arc in the preview quarter, Omaha missed all four attempts in the last quarter. Omaha did do well on the line going 8-of-9. Brooklyn Smith contributed five free throws and a layup in the last 1:48 of the game. 

Montana had their highest lead of 25 points at 2:16 in the fourth quarter. The Lady Griz made five turnovers in the fourth and only one steal. While only attempting three three-pointers, they made just one. Their last bucket was a three-point jumper by Huard at 0:16 to give them 81 points. After taking a personal foul, Smith was sent to the line for two more points, ending the game 81-60. 

Next Up
The Omaha Mavericks will take the road to Grand Forks to resume conference play against North Dakota on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 7 p.m.