SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 9 Omaha Mavericks nearly pulled off a massive upset as they led No. 1 South Dakota State by three at halftime, but ultimately saw their season come to an end tonight as they were bested 66-53 in the Quarterfinals round of the Summit League Championships.
Omaha officially ends its 2024 campaign with a record of 8-23.
Leaders For Omaha
Aaliyah Stanley, in the final game of her collegiate career, led the Mavericks with 14 points and was tied with fellow senior
Polina Nikulochkina for the team lead in rebounds with five.
Grace Cave also scored in double figures with 12 points and likewise tied Nikulochkina for the lead in steals with two.
Along with Stanley and Nikulochkina,
Katie Keitges and
Deanay Watson also played their final games tonight, combining for 11 points and four rebounds.
Leaders for South Dakota State
Paige Meyer led all players today with 24 points thanks to going 5-for-9 from behind the arc. Madison Mathiowetz was second on the team with 10 points and led the way with six assists, while Mesa Byom was first in rebounds with 12.
Team Stats
The Jackrabbits outshot the Mavericks in every category tonight, holding the advantage in FG% (42.2% to 33.9%), 3-PT FG% (35.7% to 33.3%), and FT% (78.3% to 61.5%), and also outrebounded Omaha 42-24.
Inside the First Quarter
Cave got the day started by catching her own rebound and making the second-chance layup 30 seconds in. A couple minutes later, Keitges continued her hot streak from behind the arc with Omaha's first of the day to make it 5-5. Omaha would not get another bucket until a layup from Nikulochkina at 5:22 as the Jackrabbits went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead.
Trailing 16-7 with just under three minutes left, Omaha got some late life on a diving layup from Nikulochkina and a three from Cave at 2:00 get back within four.
Inside the Second Quarter
The Mavericks almost completely shut down one of the nation's top scoring offenses as they managed to hold SDSU to just nine points in the second as
Cora Olsen and
Kennedi Grant each recorded two steals and Stanley grabbed four defensive boards.
Stanley also contributed another nine points on offense, accounting for over half of the team's total scoring. Between 4:19 and 2:06, she single handedly went on a 6-0 scoring run to put Omaha on top 25-24. After the Jackrabbits went back up by one with a minute to play, buckets from Nikulochkina and
Morgann Gardner would close out the half with the Mavericks leading 29-26.
Inside the Third Quarter
Omaha kept pace with SDSU through the first two and a half minutes of the third, getting key baskets from Cave and Nikulochkina to keep the Mavericks in the driver's seat with a 34-32 lead. Over the rest of the period, however, the Jackrabbits went on a run and outscored Omaha 13-7 to take a 46-41 lead into the final quarter.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Neither team was able to get much going offensively in the fourth, with the Jackrabbits only getting into double-digit points with two minutes left. Early on, Omaha pulled back within one point of SDSU at the six-minute mark as they scored seven unanswered, including the second three-pointer of the day from Keitges at 6:41, to make it 49-48.
Unfortunately, over the final five minutes of the quarter, SDSU retook control of the court for good, starting with three-straight from behind the arc to take a 10-point lead hold it.
