Omaha, Neb. – The Omaha Mavericks defeated the South Dakota State Coyotes 77-67. In arguably their best game of the season, the Mavericks had the lead from the start and never gave it up. 
 
Omaha improves to a 6-19 overall on the season and is now 2-10 in conference play. 

Leaders For Omaha
Morgann Gardner led the Mavericks with her 17-point 10-rebound double-double. Going 7-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line, Gardner tabs her first career double-double. The other three Mavericks in double-digits were Kennedi Grant (16), Grace Cave (14), and Aaliyah Stanley (11). Cave went an almost perfect 10-of-11 from the free throw line tonight. Grant led Omaha with six assists and Cave led with three steals. Cora Olsen had her first block of the season, and the only one for the Mavericks tonight. 
 
Leaders for South Dakota
The Coyotes were led by Kendall Holmes with 21 points and Grace Larkin snagged 12 rebounds and a team-high four assists. 

Team Stats
Omaha outshot the Coyotes in both field goals (45.5%, 22-of-55 vs. 32.4%, 22-of-68) and three-pointers (43.8%, 7-of-16 vs. 24.2%, 8-of-33). Though having a lower shot percentage (62.5% vs. 75%) the Mavericks made more free throws (20-of-32 vs. 15-of-20).

Inside the First Quarter
Omaha took the lead first with a three-point jumper by Gardner. The Mavericks had a seven-point scoring run to put them up 17-8 with 1:34 left in the first quarter. Gardner accounted for eight of the 19 points scored in the first quarter. 

The Coyotes had a slow start to the game, only scoring 13 points in the first. At one point in the first, the Yotes were down by nine. From the field, USD only made 5-of-19 attempts and made five turnovers. 

Inside the Second Quarter
The second was a low-scoring quarter for both teams. Omaha only scored 14, while holding South Dakota to 12. Morgann Gardner once again led the quarter in scoring with six points. The Mavericks held the Coyotes to just 3-of-14 shot attempts but allowed them five points off the free throw. 

Inside the Third Quarter
The Mavericks came out of the half strong as Gardner made a fast break layup for the first bucket of the third. Polina Nikulochkina had a solid quarter, putting up six points for the Mavericks off a layup, three, and free throw. Gardner put the Mavericks up by 11 at the end of the quarter with a basket off the free-throw line. 

The Coyotes tried to power back with an eight-point scoring run but were only able to get within three. USD gave Omaha 11 attempts at the free throw in the third and turned the ball over four times. 

 Inside the Fourth Quarter
With Stanley's back-to-back field goals and Grant's free throw, the Mavericks had scored five straight points putting them up 14 points and giving them their biggest lead of the game. The Mavericks powered through the fourth, only letting them get within six. Omaha secured the 10-point win after sinking eight free throws in the last minute of the game. 

Next Up
The Mavericks will travel to South Dakota State for a game on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.