UNO Women Begin Run at MIAA Title on Friday
Mar 5, 2009 | General, Women's Basketball
This Week: The UNO women's basketball team will be on the floor of the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium for the opening round of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Championship on Friday, March 6 when it faces the Pittsburg State University Gorillas at approximately 8:15 p.m. The Mavericks are the sixth seed in the tournament while the Gorillas are the third seed.
The Records: The Mavericks finished the regular season 15-11 and 11-9 in the MIAA. They are coming off a 77-70 loss to Pittsburg State in the last game of the regular season on Feb. 28 at Sapp Fieldhouse. The Gorillas finished the regular season at 19-8 and 14-6 in league play. Ironically, MIAA coaches picked the Mavericks and Gorillas to finish in a tie for seventh in their annual pre-season poll.
The Coaches: Patty Patton Shearer is in her fifth season at UNO. She is 82-60 all time in Omaha. Last year, the Mavericks started 14-1 (the best start in school history) and recorded their third-straight winning season at 17-12. A native of Marana, Ariz., Patton Shearer is a 1990 graduate of Rocky Mountain College. This is the second season for Lane Lord as head coach at Pittsburg State. The 1993 graduate of Tabor College is 29-25 all-time as a head coach.
The Series: The Mavericks and Gorillas don't have much of a history. Pittsburg State leads the all-time series, 2-1, following last Saturday's 77-70 win in Omaha.
Media: Each game the Mavericks play in the MIAA Tournament can be heard live on KOIL 1180 AM in Omaha. David Gustafson will call the play-by-play. The games begin with the pre-game show 10 minutes before the opening tip. The games also are available on-line at omavs.com.
Coming Up: Should the Mavericks knock off Pittsburg State in round one on Friday, they will face the winner of the (2) Washburn/(7) Fort Hays State game on Saturday, March 7 at 8:15 p.m.
