OMAHA, Neb. - Omaha built a 22-point third quarter lead and held off a late North Dakota rally to win the Summit League opener for both women's teams, 71-66. The Mavericks (9-5, 1-0) are off to their best start under
Carrie Banks after downing the Fighting Hawks (5-9, 0-1) Thursday at Baxter Arena.
After winning seven of eight games to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule, Omaha's defense helped them force 29 turnovers to open the 2025 calendar year with a win.
Lauren Perry's jumper off a steal with 2:30 to play in the third quarter gave them a 55-33 lead, but North Dakota went on a 10-point run late to make it interesting before Omaha held on for their 5th win in six home games this season.
Omaha was led by seniors
Ja Harvey (24 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 4 steals) with a career high 24 points and
Grace Cave, who scored 21 (21 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists, 5 steals). It is the second time this season Omaha posted multiple 20+ point performances in the same game and marks Harvey's sixth straight double-digit effort.
Senior
Morgann Gardner, junior
Lauren Perry and senior
Aaliyah Moore had 6 points each, while sophomore
Cora Olsen led the team with 4 assists.
With 22 points and 13 rebounds, Fighting Hawks sophomore Kiera Pemberton posted her 13th double-double in 14 games for North Dakota this season.
Prior to the start of the game, Cave was presented a game ball commemorating her 1,000th career points scored for Omaha, a mark she achieved against Bellevue 12/18.
Omaha returns to action in Brookings against defending Summit League champs South Dakota State, January 9 at 7 p.m. CT. They then visit South Dakota in Vermillion Saturday afternoon, January 11 at 1 p.m. CT.
Omaha returns home to Baxter Arena January 16 to face North Dakota State and January 18 to host St. Thomas. Tickets to all Mavericks home games can be purchased at OMavs.com/tix.
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.
