VERMILLION, S.D. - A South Dakota school-record scoring performance eventually allowed the Coyotes to pull away from a fiery Mavericks team, as Omaha fell 71-66 in Summit League play Saturday afternoon In Vermillion. In a game that saw eight lead changes and five ties, Coyote senior Grace Larkins topped the single-game school mark for USD (9-9. 3-1) with 45 points, offsetting three Mavericks (9-7, 1-2) in double figures.
The Mavericks led by six points on a
Katie Keitges three-pointer (assisted by
Harriet Ford) at 4:50 of the third quarter and still held a five point lead at 1:39 of the third when Ford put back her own miss to make it 51-46 Omaha. But Larkiins scored five points to send the game to the fourth tied at 53-53, then outscored Omaha on her own in the final frame (15 to 13) en route to a double-double (45 pts.,13 reb.) and the win for USD at Sanford Coyote Center. Off to their best overall record under head coach
Carrie Banks, Omaha has dropped back-to-back games for the first time since November.
The Mavericks return home for a pair of Summit League tilts at Baxter Arena, Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. CT against North Dakota State and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. against St. Thomas. Tickets for all Mavericks home games are available at OMavs.com/Tix.
Seniors
Grace Cave and
Ja Harvey led the Mavericks in scoring with 16 each, and sophomore
Cora Olsen added 12 points. Cave finished with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, Harvey added 5 rebounds and a steal, while Olsen chipped in 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Keitges finished with 6 points on 2-2 three-pointers and 7 rebounds. Ford, limited to just 14 minutes in her second game back from injury, gave the Mavs a boost off the bench with 8 points and 9 rebounds.
All Summit League games, home and away, are televised on The Summit League Network. Omaha games can be heard on the radio via the Omaha Mavericks Network, as well as The Varsity Network app or website from Learfield. Details can be found on the OMavs.com schedule page for broadcast specifics and links.
Brent Weber is the play-by-play voice of Mavericks women's basketball.
Connect with Omaha women's basketball on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram,
@OmahaWBB.
