Mavs Host Chicago State Monday Night
Nov 16, 2013 | Women's Basketball
This Week
The Omaha women's basketball team will look to build off its 109-point scoring outburst when it hosts Chicago State on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Monday's game is the only game the Mavs will play on a Monday all year. It will air on 1180 Zone 2 and will be streamed online at OMavs.com. Jon Green will have the play-by-play. A live webcast is available for purchase at OMavs.com, while live stats are free and can also be found at OMavs.com.
The Teams
The Mavericks (1-2) are coming off the second-most points in school history in a 109-52 victory over Graceland (Iowa) in the home opener last Thursday. UNO hit 43 field goals and 13 3-pointers, both the second-highest totals in school history. Brianna Bogard leads the Mavs in scoring with 14.3 points per game, and Ericka House is averaging 13.3 ppg. Mikaela Shaw is putting up 8.3 ppg and 9.3 rebounds per game. Victoria Trowbridge is providing 8.3 ppg and 6.3 rpg off the bench. Madi Robson averages 4.7 points and a team-best 4.7 assists per game. The Mavs rank first in The Summit League in scoring defense (60.7 ppg) and third in scoring offense (74.0 ppg).
Chicago State enters Saturday's game at Miami (Ohio) with a 1-1 record. The Cougars are a member of the WAC this season for the first time. Chicago State opened with a 74-51 win over Indiana Institute of Technology but fell at Northwestern, 64-33. The Cougars are led by Tierra Williams' 14.5 points per game. Chanel Wilson-Stewart averages a double-double at 10.0 ppg and 15.0 rebounds per game. Paris Williams chips in 12.0 ppg.
Series History
UNO leads the all-time series 1-0 after defeating the Cougars 62-47 last year in Chicago. The Mavericks used a 21-8 run to end the first half to turn a five-point lead into a 41-23 halftime advantage. Despite committing a season-high 23 turnovers, the Mavericks still outscored Chicago State 29-18 in points off turnovers because the Cougars committed 21 themselves.
Recapping the Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha women's basketball team blistered the nets in a 109-52 rout of Graceland (Iowa) in the Mavs' home opener on Thursday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavs (1-2) picked up their first win of the season in emphatic fashion, tying the second-most points scored in a game in school history. The school record is 115 at Johnson & Wales on Dec. 29, 2005. Felicia Anderson had a game-high 20 points and hit 6-of-11 from long distance. Ericka House had 19 points - all in the first half - and hit five 3-pointers. They led five Mavericks in double figures. Sami Pawlak had 15 points, Victoria Trowbridge had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Mikaela Shaw had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Both freshmen achieved their first career double-doubles. Freshman guard Madi Robson - making her first career start - nearly had a double-double with nine points and 10 assists. She committed no turnovers in 33 minutes played. Taijhe Kelly had six points, six boards and blocked two shots to move into third place in school history with 125 career blocked shots.
Up Next
The Mavericks end their three-game home stretch against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m.
Maverick Notes
• Thursday's 109-52 win over Graceland was the Mavs' eighth straight win in the home opener. The last time the Mavs dropped a home opener was the 2005-06 season. All 10 Mavericks scored in Thursday's win.
• Junior Felicia Anderson had 20 points off the bench against Graceland after scoring just two points through the first two games this season. Her six 3-pointers tied for third-most in school history.
• In her first career start on Thursday, freshman guard Madi Robson played 33 minutes and had nine points, 10 assists and no turnovers. Her assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.7 ranks fourth in The Summit League.
• Junior Brianna Bogard's 14.3 points per game ranks fourth in The Summit League. Bogard's 29 points in the season opener at Louisiana were the most points scored by a UNO player in the Division I era, which began in November 2011. It was Bogard's first-ever game as a Maverick, and she tied the school record with 15 free throws made.
• Taijhe Kelly ranks second in The Summit League with 2.7 blocked shots per game.
• Freshman Mikaela Shaw ranks second in The Summit League with 9.3 rebounds per game. She is nearly averaging a double-double with 8.3 points per game.
• Shaw and fellow freshman Victoria Trowbridge recorded the first double-doubles of the season for the Mavs in last Thursday's win. Trowbridge had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Shaw had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
• Freshman Sami Pawlak scored 15 points and hit all seven shots she attempted in 13 minutes off the bench against Graceland.
Kelly is a Block Machine
Junior center Taijhe Kelly is climbing her way up the career blocked shots chart at UNO. Kelly has 125 career blocks to rank third in school history. She only needs four more blocked shots to move into a tie for second place. This season she is averaging 2.7 blocked shots per game to rank first in The Summit League. The school-record holder is Mary Henke-Anderson with 291 from 1979-83. Kelly swatted 74 shots in 2012-13, the third-highest single-season total in Maverick history. In her freshman campaign, she posted 43 blocks, the eighth-best total. Only Henke-Anderson has had more blocked shots in a season (86 in 1980-81 and 75 in 1979-80). Kelly was first in The Summit League last season with her 2.6 blocks per game. Her 51 blocked shots in conference play only were 26 more than the next closest competitor.
House On Fire
The Mavericks' lone senior, Ericka House, provided instant offense off the bench last season at 9.0 points per game, the most by any Summit League reserve player. However, this year House moves into the starting lineup and a team captain role. She hit 57-of-170 from 3-point range (33.5 percent) in her first year in the program, finishing fifth in single-season 3-pointers made and fourth in attempts in UNO history. House was voted to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team this year. House's 57 triples last season puts her in a tie for 17th in school history for career 3-pointers made.
Bogard Leads Talented Group of Newcomers
With only two healthy returning players entering the 2013 season, the Mavericks will be extremely dependent on production from the eight newcomers this season. Leading that charge will be junior transfer Brianna Bogard. The 5-7 point guard brings Division I experience to the Maverick lineup, having played two seasons at East Tennessee State. Bogard, who received a waiver from the NCAA to compete immediately without having to sit out a season, averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game through 10 games as a sophomore at ETSU last season before transferring. As a freshman in 2011-12, Bogard played 20.5 minutes per game and averaged 5.2 points per game, 1.3 assists per game and 1.3 rebounds per game. She will replace Jamie Nash, who started all but six games at point guard for the Mavs over the last four years. The Mavs have two other junior transfers in guards Felicia Anderson and Lanese Bough, and both will play veteran roles right away for the young Maverick squad. In addition to the three juniors, five freshmen are new to the program this season: Felicia Coleman, Sami Pawlak, Madi Robson, Mikaela Shaw and Victoria Trowbridge.
Cox To Miss Second Straight Season
Junior guard Cathleen Cox suffered a torn ACL in the preseason and will miss the entire season. She re-injured the same ACL she tore in December 2012, which caused her to miss the final 21 games of 2012-13. Cox was one of only three returning players for the Mavericks entering this season. Her loss means Taijhe Kelly and Ericka House are the only Mavs who enter the season having worn the Omaha jersey before this year.
House Earns Preseason All-Summit League Honors; Mavs Picked Seventh
The Mavericks were picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Preseason Poll. Additionally, senior guard Ericka House was selected to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team. The league's head coaches, sports information directors and media voted on the preseason honors. The Mavericks collected 77 points to edge out eighth-place North Dakota State by three points. South Dakota State garnered 27-of-30 first-place votes and was tabbed the preseason favorite with 319 points. The Jackrabbits have won five straight conference tournaments. Not surprisingly, Fort Wayne guard Amanda Hyde was picked as the Preseason Player of the Year after earning Player of the Year last season.
Lange Leads Mavericks into 2013-14
Brittany Lange was named the interim head coach on Oct. 2 after former coach Chance Lindley stepped down for personal reasons. Lange, who is 26 and turns 27 on New Year's Eve, is believed to be the youngest Division I women's basketball head coach in the nation. Lange has been on the staff for three years since the transition to Division I began, serving as both an assistant coach and director of operations. “I am more than fortunate and excited to work under the direction and leadership of Trev Alberts and the administration,” Lange said. “Our program is continually reaching new heights and laying the foundation for future Mavericks. Our expectations, competitiveness, and vision are a direct representation of our program's principles, student-athletes and athletic department leaders. I cannot imagine a more thrilling, promising or opportune place to be currently in athletics than at Omaha.” In addition to Lange, Lee Aduddell is in her first season as an assistant for the Mavs after joining the staff last May. Rodney Rogan is in his first season as an assistant coach after joining the program in October. Director of Operations Elisha Turek will now also serve as an assistant coach.
Production to Replace
Omaha lost four starters and nine letterwinners from last year's squad, which means the Mavericks have big shoes to fill in almost every statistical category this season. UNO must replace 76.3 percent of its scoring from last year, 78.1 percent of its rebounding, 92.2 percent of its assists and 85.9 percent of its steals. The Mavs' three leading scorers in 2012-13 - Paige Frauendorfer, Carolyn Blair-Mobley and Jamie Nash - all graduated. Combined with fellow senior Carly Cator, the four started every single game for the Mavericks. Stacia Gebers (2.3 ppg), Casse Vaughn (5.3 ppg), Kate Bayes (1.1 ppg), Myhiah Dotzler (0.9 ppg) and Allison Jackson (0.8 ppg) all moved on from the program as well.
Division I Transition Moving Along
The Mavericks now have three full seasons under their belt in their five-year wait to become eligible for conference and NCAA postseason competition. Omaha is in its third year as a reclassifying Division I school but its second year in The Summit League. UNO is still not able to participate in the Summit League tournament or the NCAA Tournament for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. However, the Mavericks would be eligible for the Women's National Invitation Tournament and the Women's Basketball Invitational should they compile a worthy resume.
New Arena On the Horizon
The Mavericks will play the next two seasons in the Sapp Fieldhouse, but in the 2015-16 season the Mavericks plan to move into their brand-new arena on the south side of the UNO campus. The arena - which will house both basketball teams, hockey and volleyball - is estimated to cost around $76.3 million and will hold approximately 7,500 for hockey. Fundraising and finalized designs for the arena are ongoing. Construction is slated to start in late 2013 with an expected completion date of June 2015. The proposed site of the building is at 68th and Center Streets, just south of Aksarben Village. “The arena is a game-changer for UNO - enhancing not only Maverick athletics and our move to Division I, but also recruitment, student life and as a home for university special events,” said Chancellor John Christensen.
