SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - (8) Omaha held (9) North Dakota to 23.5% shooting from the field as the Mavericks led from start to finish in a 49-39 win Wednesday in the opening round of the Summit League Women's Basketball Championship.
On the offensive end, junior
Ali Stephens (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led Omaha by scoring 11 of her team-high 17 points in the second half. Stephens also grabbed 13 rebounds as she finished with her third career double-double. Two of those double-doubles have come against North Dakota in the past month with another taking place when the Mavs (6-26) hosted the Fighting Hawks (7-24) on Feb. 5.
Omaha also got solid efforts from a pair of freshmen as
Avril Smith (Omaha, Neb.) scored seven points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while
Regan Juenemann (Crosby, Minn.) had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Omaha set the tone by controlling the opening quarter. North Dakota missed its first 14 shots from the field as Omaha extended its lead to 11-1 when Smith hit a long jumper with 35 seconds left in the period.
Smith, who had 15 points, 20 rebounds, four steals and four blocks when Omaha edged North Dakota 58-54 at Baxter Arena (Feb. 5), had nine of her 16 rebounds in the first 12 minutes.
Omaha's biggest lead of the first half was 25-12 after freshman
Leekaya Burke Perryman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made a layup 55 seconds before halftime.
Omaha then scored on five straight possessions midway through the third quarter to extend the lead to 37-22 with 3:55 left in the third quarter. Stephens hit two threes and a layup during that 12-4 run.
The Mavericks hit eight 3-pointers on the day, the last two coming from
Regan Juenemann and Stephens on back-to-back possessions late after North Dakota had cut the margin to single digits. Stephens' 3 made it 49-36 with 1:45 left.
Omaha outrebounded North Dakota 43-35, and the Mavericks never let North Dakota get in an offensive rhythm. North Dakota shot 12 of 51 from the field, including 1 of 20 on 3-pointers.
Graduate
Sarai Estupiñan (Cedar Park, Texas) added eight points and five assists for the Mavericks, who now face a 26-3 North Dakota State squad.
Omaha, which has compiled a 4-4 record since the end of January, will face top-seeded North Dakota State at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT Thursday in the quarterfinal. North Dakota ends its season at 7-24.
Tickets are available now for Thursday's quarterfinal. The game will air on Midco Sports and streamed on the Summit League Network. It will also be broadcast on the Varsity Network and 1290 KOIL in Omaha.
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