OMAHA, Neb.- Omaha's defense came through in overtime, with turnovers leading to all five points in the extra period - including a 3 point field goal by
Grace Cave - as the Mavericks beat Utah State 79-77 at Baxter Arena.
Omaha was led by sophomore
Cora Olsen (16 pts, 2 assists, 3 steals), senior
Ja Harvey (14 pts, 4 assists, 3 reb) and 5th year
Katie Keitges (12 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists). Senior
Grace Cave's three pointer in overtime was the 100th of her Omaha career. She finished with 8 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
The Mavericks (2-4) are now 2-1 at home, while Utah State falls to 1-5. Omaha showed signs of pulling away in both halves, leading by 8 in the first half and 14 in the second half, but Utah State's 9-0 scoring run to close out regulation sent it to overtime.
Senior
Morgann Gardner provided a boost from the start going 4-4 from the field for all 8 of her points in the first quarter. Freshman
Harriet Ford again led the Mavericks in rebounding, pulling down 10 boards. It was her third double-digit rebounding game of the season. Senior
Aaliyah Moore added 4 points and 7 rebounds for Omaha.
Utah State's Jamisyn Heaton led all scorers with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Mavericks now head west for three games, starting Friday, November 29, against the hosts in the University of San Diego Thanksgiving Classic. Tip-off is 4:00 p.m. CT. They then play Utah Valley on Saturday, again at 4:00 p.m. CT. The Mavericks then travel up the west coast to play Portland State in the Big Sky/Summit Challenge, Wednesday 12/4 at 9 p.m. CT. All games will be broadcast on KOIL AM/The Varsity app at 3:45 p.m.
The Mavericks return home to Baxter Arena Saturday 12/7 against Sacramento State for a 2 p.m. CT tip-off. Tickets are available for all Mavericks home games at OMavs.com/tix.
