Mavs Meet Summit League Foe Western Illinois
Dec 19, 2011 | General, Women's Basketball
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Nebraska Omaha at Western Illinois
Tuesday, Dec. 20 • 7 p.m. • Macomb, Ill. - Waste Management Court at Western Hall
Series Record: First meeting
The UNO Maverick women's basketball team gets a taste of its future on Tuesday, as the Mavericks play their first game this season against a future Summit League opponent when they travel to Macomb, Ill., to face the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. UNO has never met Western Illinois on the court before, and Tuesday's game will mark the first of two games between the teams this year, as Western Illinois visits the Sapp Fieldhouse on Jan. 30. In all, UNO will play three games against Summit League teams this year.
Series History
Tuesday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Last Time Out
The UNO women's basketball team saw its four-game win streak come to an end Sunday afternoon, as the Mavericks fell at Loyola Chicago, 69-57. The Mavericks (7-4) were led by Heather Pohl's season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Paige Frauendorfer also had 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. Simone Law had a game-high 28 points to lead the Ramblers (5-5). She also had 13 rebounds. Troy Hambric chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Playing their first road game and first game against a Division I opponent since Nov. 27, the Mavericks led the Ramblers in the early going. UNO went up 14-11 with 8:42 left in the first half when Pohl hit her third 3-pointer of the game. But the Ramblers closed out the half on a 19-6 run and claimed a 33-20 halftime lead.
In the second half, Loyola Chicago pushed its lead to as many as 19 at 60-41 with 6:21 remaining. However, UNO reeled off a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 10 with 2:44 left, 64-54. Freshman Cathleen Cox, who started her first career game and played a career-high 30 minutes, knocked down a 3 to start the comeback attempt, and Frauendorfer recorded an old-fashioned three-point play to draw within 10. But the Mavs could get no closer the rest of the way.
The Mavericks matched their season low of 16 turnovers and equaled Loyola with 24 points in the paint. UNO outscored Loyola Chicago 37-36 in the second half and turned the ball over just twice after the break. Frauendorfer had 14 of her 18 points in the second half alone.
Zenta Liepa finished with seven points and four rebounds off the bench. Cox had six points and four assists.
The Coaches
Chance Lindley is in his first year as the Mavericks' head coach. The 35-year-old Lindley comes to UNO from Arizona, where he was an assistant for three years. Lindley's first collegiate head coaching gig came at Barton County Community College, where he went 34-4 in 2007-08 before moving on to Arizona. Lindley graduated cum laude from Wichita State in 2000 with a degree in physical education.
J.D. Gravina is in his first year as the head coach at Western Illinois. Gravina is 3-6 at the school and is 116-67 in his seventh year as a head coach. Simpson graduated from William Jewell in 2000.
Scouting the Opponents
Western Illinois is 3-6 on the season and is 1-1 in the Summit League Conference. The Fighting Leathernecks are coming off a 98-45 loss at Iowa on Dec. 9. Western Illinois owns a conference win over North Dakota State, 68-65, but it slipped up against South Dakota State, 82-56. Sadie Webb leads the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Michele Salvatori produces 10.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Maverick Roundup
1) An incredible four Mavericks recorded double-doubles in the 72-70 overtime win over Northwest Missouri State on Dec. 10. Jamie Nash had a game-high 21 points and 11 assists; Paige Frauendorfer had 18 points and 14 rebounds; Heather Pohl had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Rese Huddlin had 11 points and 13 rebounds, with eight coming on the offensive end.
2) Paige Frauendorfer is off to the best start of any Maverick, averaging 15.4 points on 51.9-percent shooting from the field. The junior guard leads the Mavericks with five double-doubles and has already set new career highs in both points (24) and rebounds (15). Frauendorfer has scored in double-figures in 10 of 11 games.
3) Amanda Woodring hit a school-record eight 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 24 points against College of St. Mary on Dec. 7. Woodring, who had been averaging 1.4 points per game coming into that game, smashed her previous career high of 17 points, set at Missouri Western last season. She finished 8-of-12 on 3-pointers.
4) Jamie Nash has 215 career steals, which ranks her seventh in school history. She needs just eight more to take sole possession of fifth place and 28 to break into the top three. Nash is averaging 4.9 steals per game, which ranks second in the nation.
5) Heather Pohl has made 136 career 3-pointers, which ranks her fifth in school history. The senior needs just seven more to move into sole possession of fourth place.
Owning the Paint
The Mavericks dominated the paint in their previous four home wins. During the four games, the Mavericks posted a combined 156-46 advantage in the paint for an average of 39.0-10.6 per game. The Mavs are 7-0 this year when winning the battle in the paint and are 0-4 when not outscoring their opponents in the lane.
Scanning the Stats
Because of its reclassification period, Nebraska Omaha cannot be included in the official NCAA statistics. However, with 4.9 steals per game, Jamie Nash would rank second in Division I in that category. Quinnipiac's Felicia Barron leads the nation with 6.2 steals per game. The Mavs as a team average 13.2 steals per game, which would rank 22nd in the country.
Clamping Down on 'D'
The Chance Lindley era is only 11 games in, but already the Mavericks are showing improvements on last year's final defensive numbers. The Mavericks are allowing opponents 58.7 points per game, which is nearly 13 points better than last year's 71.3 average. UNO is also holding opponents to 26.5 percent from long distance. That's a significant upgrade from last year, when UNO's opponents shot 35.8 percent from 3-point range and the Mavs finished last in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Winning Numbers
Sixty has been the magic number so far for the Mavericks. When holding opponents under 60 points, the Mavericks are 6-1. When scoring more than 60 points, the Mavericks are 7-1. The only exceptions: a 54-48 loss at Marshall on Nov. 27, and a Nov. 12 loss at Metro State, 64-61. UNO has fallen in all four games that its trailed with five minutes to play. But when the Mavs are tied or winning with five minutes left, they are 7-0.
Record Seekers
Senior forward Heather Pohl and junior guard Jamie Nash are climbing the charts in UNO women's basketball history. Pohl ranks fifth in school history with 136 career 3-point field goals. She needs just seven more to move into sole possession of fourth place and 19 to move into the top three. Pohl also moved into the top 10 in school history for career offensive rebounds at Loyola Chicago on Dec. 18. Pohl has 140 career offensive boards to rank ninth all-time.
Meanwhile, Nash ranks seventh in school history with 215 career steals. She needs just eight more to take sole possession of fifth place and 28 to break into the top three. The school record is 331, set by Kriss Edwards from 1977-81. Nash also entered the top 10 this season in career assists with 279, which ranks her ninth.
Mavericks Reclassify to Division I
Nebraska Omaha announced in March 2011 its plan to reclassify from NCAA Division II to Division I, beginning with the 2011-12 school year. UNO, which was previously a member of the MIAA, accepted an invitation to join The Summit League and will compete as a full-fledged member with a regular-season conference schedule in 2012-13.
Next Up for the Mavericks
The Mavs will have a week-long break before returning to action at Tulsa on Dec. 28 at 6 p.m. UNO then hosts a New Year's Eve game against Missouri Western at 12 p.m. at Sapp Fieldhouse.
