PORTLAND, Ore.- The Mavericks overcame a dismal first half to race past Portland State 65-57 and claim their fourth straight win in the opening game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. Sweeping three games on a west coast road swing, Omaha's women's basketball squad has claimed four wins in a row for the first time since 2017 and are off to the best start of head coach
Carrie Banks' career with the Mavericks.
Trailing by as many as 12 points in the opening half at Viking Pavilion, Omaha (5-4) turned up the pressure on their trapping defense to reel off 8 straight third quarter points out of the halftime break and stun Portland State (3-3).
Grace Cave, held scoreless in the first half, had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds in the third quarter. The Mavericks never trailed again.
Senior
Aaliyah Moore led Omaha with 13 points and 5 rebounds and Cave finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Senior
Ja Harvey had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and a blocked shot.
Ali Stephens had 7 points, including a 3-pter, and 3 rebounds, while fellow sophomore
Cora Olsen added 7 points and 3 rebounds.
Katie Keitges nailed a 3-pt shot with :47 to play that broke the game's last tie en route to the win.
Omaha began the road trip with wins in the San Diego Thanksgiving Classic over San Diego (11/29) and Utah Valley (11/30).
The two teams met for the first time as part of the second Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. Each team in the two conferences plays a pair of games home and away to stake claim to league prominence. The Mavericks return home to Baxter Arena Saturday 12/7 against Sacramento State for a 2 p.m. CT tip-off in their final game of the challenge. Tickets are available for all Mavericks home games at OMavs.com/tix.
