OMAHA, Neb. - Junior
Ali Stephens (Fort Wayne, Ind.) scored a career-high 18 points as the Omaha women's basketball team dropped an 81-68 decision to St. Thomas on Thursday night at Baxter Arena.
Stephens was one of four Mavericks in double figures as graduate
Sarai Estupiñan (Cedar Park, Texas) added 13 points and four assists, freshman
Leekaya Burke Perryman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored 11 first-half points and sophomore
Daria Shelby (Canton, Mich.) finished with 10.
Omaha (2-18, 0-5 Summit) led 28-27 with less than five minutes left in the first half before St. Thomas (9-9, 2-2) grabbed the lead for good with an 18-6 run midway through the game.
The 68 points were the most Omaha has scored in a league game this season. The Mavericks hit 13 3-pointers and were 13 of 13 at the foul line, but St. Thomas went 25 of 31 at the line, including 21 of 24 in the second half.
"I thought there was a big improvement from an offensive standpoint," head coach
Jamie Carey said.
Omaha started the night in a rhythm offensively as it hit six of its first seven shots, including five 3-pointers. When Burke Perryman hit threes on back-to-back possessions, Omaha owned a 17-15 lead.
There were seven lead changes in the next 10 minutes with Omaha taking its last lead at 28-27 on a Burke Perryman three.
But St. Thomas took a 41-34 lead to halftime and started the second half on an 8-2 run. Omaha never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Omaha also got a strong all-around game from freshman forward
Avril Smith (Omaha, Neb.), who finished with four points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and two steals.
It was the 11th time this season that Smith finished with double-digit rebounds.
Omaha now travels to Tulsa to face Oral Roberts at 2 p.m. CT Saturday.
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