SAN DIEGO, Calif.- After downing Utah State in a thrilling overtime win, the Mavericks women's basketball squad looks to build on their team play at the University of San Diego's 2024 Thanksgiving Classic. 

Omaha plays the host Toreros (3-2, 0-0 WCC) Friday (11/29) at 4 p.m. CT and Utah Valley University (5-1, 0-0 WAC) Saturday (11/30) at 4:00 p.m. CT. All games are played at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the USD campus. Omaha's games can be heard on the Omaha Sports Network from Learfield.  Brent Weber handles the play-by-play for the Mavericks. The pregame for both broadcasts begins at 3:45 p.m. CT. The radio flagship for both broadcasts in Omaha is KOIL News Talk 1290. All games can be heard via the Varsity Network app or internet stream with links available on the OMavs.com schedule page. Friday's game will also be broadcast on ESPN+.  

The Mavericks (2-4, 0-0) are coming off a 79-77 win over visiting Utah State at Baxter Arena Tuesday night. Cora Olsen led Omaha scorers with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Senior transfer Ja Harvey made her first start and scored 14 points for the second straight game. Fifth year Katie Keitges added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while Preseason Second Team All-Summit League guard Grace Cave hit a three-pointer in overtime to lift the Mavericks to the win. It was the 100th made 3 pt FG of the senior's career. She also had 7 rebounds. Freshman Harriet Ford pulled down 10 boards, her third double-digit rebounding effort. She has paced the team in rebounding in each of the season's games thus far.

In the previous game against Wisconsin, nine Mavericks tallied in the game, with Omaha's bench outscoring Wisconsin's 36-14. On the season, Omaha's 34 bench points per game rank 18th in the nation and lead the Summit League.

Cave leads the Mavericks in scoring with 13.0 ppg (4.2 rpg, 3.33 apg, 2.33 spg). Sophomore Cora Olsen is second on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) followed by Ford (9.5 ppg), Harvey (8.5 ppg), senior Aaliyah Moore (7.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg).  Sophomore Ali Stephens is among the Summit's top three-point shooters, making a career-high 9-17 (53%) from behind the arc. Omaha is second in the Summit League in three-point shooting (36%). Ford is second in the conference and 17th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.7) and rebounds per game (9.7). 

Omaha's 73.2 ppg is third highest in the Summit League and ranks 97th nationally. 

Omaha plays the next three games on the west coast, 11/29-30 at the USD Thanksgiving Classic in San Diego followed by a Big Sky/Summit Challenge match-up at Portland State (12/4). The Mavericks return home for the second of the Big Sky/Summit Challenge games, 12/7 against Sacramento State at Baxter Arena. 

MAVERICKS-TOREROS HISTORY
This is the first meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
USD is looking to bounce back from a 71-63 overtime loss at UC Santa Barbara. Three Torereros scored double figures against the Gauchos. Kylie Horstmeyer scored 17 points while Truitt Reilly and Ava Ranson scored 12 points each. Reilly added 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

USD entered the 2024-25 season looking to compete in a loaded WCC armed with a few key returners as well as eight new faces. Leading the way for San Diego's returnees is Horstmeyer, a fifth year student averaging a team-high 13.0 ppg on 53% field goal shooting. Ranson, a transfer from Cal State San Marcos has started all four games and is averaging 11.5 ppg. Reilly also averages double figures with 10 ppg, 8 rpg and a team-high 7 blocked shots. 

San Diego's head coach Cindy Fisher is now one of 57 active coaches in the NCAA with 400 or more victories in their coaching careers. She has a record of 400-329 and is in her 20th year as a head coach. 

MAVERICKS-WOLVERINES HISTORY
Omaha and Utah Valley have met on two occasions, with Utah Valley winning both. Most recently, the Wolverines posted a 74-59 win on 12/22/15 in Omaha. Their other meeting came 12/29/14 when Utah Valley edged the Mavericks 59-57 in Orem, Utah.

SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
Picked to finish near the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference this season, Utah Valley University is off to a 5-1 start, the best record in the WAC thus far. They opened the campaign with wins over Summit League foe Kansas City (72-48),  at Kennesaw State (64-61), Park University (100-37) and CSU Bakersfield (72-48). Their lone loss of the season came 11/22 at home against Loyola Marymount University, 76-68. They're moist recent game was an 89-56 win over Bethesda (CA) University of the National Christian College Athletic Association. 

They are led by two players averaging double figures: redshirt junior Amanda Barcello (11.2 ppg), and Santa Clara grad transfer Danja Stafford Collins (11.0 ppg and a team-leading 8.7 rpg). Junior center Tessa Chaney shoots 55% from the field to go with 8.5 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Stafford Collins was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Women's  Newcomer of the Week for the game week ending on Sunday, Nov. 10. In the season opener win against Kansas City, Stafford Collins finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high of five assists and five steals. She followed that up with her first UVU double-double of 12 points and 11 boards in a road win at Kennesaw State.

Defensively, the Wolverines are holding opponents to 54.3 ppg.

LISTEN/WATCH/FOLLOW
Links are available on the OMavs.com schedule page.

Live Stats for San Diego are here.
Live Stats for Utah Valley are here.

Tickets are available for all Mavericks home games at OMavs.com/tix.