Omaha, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks fell 84-70 to the North Dakota State Bison on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Omaha falls to a 5-19 overall on the season and is now 1-10 in conference play. 

Leaders For Omaha
Omaha was led by Grace Cave with 15 points, going 5-of-13 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Also scoring double-digits today were Kennedi Grant (13), Morgann Gardner (12), and Polina Nikulochkina (10). Leading in rebounds was Morgann Gardner with seven. Cave had a team-high three steals and Grant tied her season-high six assists. 
 
Leaders for North Dakota State
The Bison were paced by Abby Krezewinski and Heaven Hamlings who put up 16 points each. Abbie Draper scored a 12-point 13-rebound double-double. Draper also led with four steals. Abby Schulte had a team-high four assists.

Team Stats
Omaha trailed in field goals 37.5% (24-of-64) to 51.9% (28-of-54). The Mavericks also trailed in three-pointers 22.2% (4-of-18) to 47.1% (8-of-17). On the free throw line, Omaha was just behind the Bison 81.8% (18-of-22) to 83.3% (20-of-24). 

Inside the First Quarter
The first Maverick basket was scored by Cora Olsen who made a driving layup at 9:08 to tie it up 2-2. Omaha then started to trail behind. P. Nikulochkina had a statistically perfect quarter, sinking 2-of-2 field goals, one being a three. 

The Bison's shots in the first were sinking in their favor, going 11-of-18 from the field. The Bison had seven turnovers in the first but got lucky the Maverick's shots weren't falling. Their seven fouls sent Omaha to the line for seven attempts. At the end of the quarter, the Bison were leading 26-18.  

Inside the Second Quarter
Morgann Gardner opened the second quarter with six straight points, getting the Mavericks back within two of the Bison. Keitges hit two threes, tying the game 36-36 at 3:41. Katie Keitges led the quarter with eight of the 21 points, going 3-of-5 from the field. Omaha forced five of the eight turnovers by the Bison. 

After the game was tied up at 36 NDSU answered back with seven straight points. A final three-pointer with two seconds left put North Dakota State up 48-39. The Bison went a perfect 7-of-7 on the line in the second and 6-of-9 from the field. 

Inside the Third Quarter
The Mavericks kept pace with the Bison as they both put up 19 points in the third. Omaha had a seven-point scoring streak at 4:38 with five points coming from the free throw. Kennedi Grant eight points in the third off three field goals and two free throws. From the arc, the Mavericks made three attempts but none of them hit. 11 of the 19 points scored by the Mavericks came from the charity stripe. 

Abbie Draper led the quarter for the Bison with six points, going 3-of-3 from the field. Draper also made two steals for the Bison. The Bison had their biggest lead of the game of 11 points at 7:18 after a set of free throws. 

 Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Mavericks had a tough quarter only scoring 12 points in the fourth. The last basket scored by the Mavericks was at the 1:33 mark when Cave made a layup in the paint. Cave led with six points in the fourth, but unfortunately fouled out. 

The Bison found success on the free throw line going a perfect 8-of-8, accounting for half of their points in the fourth quarter. Elle Evans had seven points off four free throws and one three-pointer. 

Next Up
The Mavericks will travel to South Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.