Mavs Host Bison, Jackrabbits
Jan 15, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team finishes its five-game homestand with a pair of Summit League games this week. On Thursday, the Mavs host North Dakota State at 7 p.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse. On Saturday, UNO welcomes five-time defending league champion South Dakota State to the Sapp Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. game. Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available at OMavs.com for both games. The NDSU game will air live on 1180 Zone 2 with Jon Green on the play-by-play, while Saturday's game will air online only.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 8-7 overall and 0-1 in the Summit League after a conference-opening 84-62 loss to Western Illinois last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.1), opponents' field goal percentage (35.8) and opponents' 3-point percentage (27.3). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Felicia Anderson adds 10.0 ppg off the bench. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game, which is eighth in the nation and leads the Summit. Madi Robson leads the team with 4.8 assists per game to rank fourth in the conference.
North Dakota State is 3-13 overall and 0-2 in the Summit League. The Bison are 0-6 on the road this season and enter Thursday's game on a nine-game losing skid. NDSU dropped league games to Fort Wayne (98-89, 2OT) and IUPUI (71-46) on opening weekend. The Bison have three players scoring in double figures - Brooke LeMar (15.1), Marena Whittle (12.3) and Holly Johnson (11.6). Whittle adds a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, while LeMar leads the team in assists with 4.9 per game.
South Dakota State, the five-time defending Summit League champion, is 11-7 overall and 2-0 in league play with wins over IUPUI (63-57) and Fort Wayne (77-60). SDSU plays at Western Illinois Thursday night. The Jackrabbits are very balanced this season with Megan Waytashek's team-best 11.3 points per game ranking just 15th in the league. However, six other players average 5.9 or more points per game. Steph Paluch, a senior who missed last season due to injury, averages 8.7 ppg, while Mariah Clarin chips in 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Gabby Boever adds 6.0 points and 2.7 assists per game. SDSU was picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference for a sixth straight time.
Series History
UNO holds a 31-30 edge in the all-time series with South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits beat the Mavs, 74-64, on Jan. 26, 2013 at the Sapp Fieldhouse, then earned a 69-56 win over the Mavs in Brookings on Feb. 21 last season.
North Dakota State leads the all-time series with UNO, 42-10. The Mavs defeated NDSU, 61-52, on Jan. 24, 2013 at the Sapp Fieldhouse. But the Bison tripped up the Mavs, 63-62, on Feb. 23 in Fargo.
Up Next
The Mavericks hit the road for the first time this month when they head to Denver for an 8 p.m. (CT) game next Thursday, Jan. 23.
Maverick Notes
• Ericka House's 3.2 three-pointers made per game lead the Summit League, and she has reached double figures in every game except for the season opener. House is shooting 85.7 percent (30-of-35) from the free throw line to rank sixth in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has five 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring nine times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.4 blocked shots per game and ranks eighth nationally. Kelly has also recorded at least six rebounds in six straight games. She ranks second in the league with 7.3 rebounds per game on the season. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 157 career offensive rebounds and is just 15 away from the top five.
• UNO is 7-1 when outscoring its opponent in the paint and are 5-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - Western Illinois notched an 84-62 win over the Omaha women's basketball team in the Summit League opener for both teams last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavericks fell to 8-7 overall and 0-1 in Summit League play. Western Illinois, the top scoring team in the league at 82.5 points per game entering Saturday, improved to 9-7 and 1-0 in league play. Mikaela Shaw had a career-high 17 points on 8-of-12 from the field for UNO. She also had five rebounds. Ericka House had 16 points but connected on just 5-of-23 from the floor. Felicia Anderson had nine points off the bench, and Lanese Bough finished with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. The Leathernecks came in to the game averaging 117 points in their last two games and picked up where they left off, shooting 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from 3-point range. WIU shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the floor overall but was shooting 55.8 percent until the final eight minutes of the game, when it hit just 3-of-18 to finish the game. WIU also connected on 19-of-22 free throws in the game, while the Mavs went 6-of-9 from the stripe. UNO shot just 34.8 percent from the field (24-of-69) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-28).
Youth Movement
The Mavericks are by far the least experienced team in The Summit League this season. Seven of the 10 Mavericks who have played this season are first-year Division I players - five freshmen and two junior transfers. As of Jan. 14, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.4 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest is North Dakota State at 25.4 percent. In addition, the seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 64.7 percent of the Mavericks' points, 74.0 percent of rebounds and 88.6 percent of assists entering Thursday's game. No other Summit League team is above 30 percent in any category.
Injury Bug Leaves Already Young Mavs Shorthanded
The Mavericks entered the season with a young team and just 11 players, but the Mavs' youth became even more transparent when two upperclassmen were lost for the season due to knee injuries. Junior Cathleen Cox suffered a torn ACL in the preseason, re-injuring the same knee that she did back 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, along with Taijhe Kelly and Ericka House. The Mavs were counting on big contributions from their class of eight newcomers, but that too took a bit of a blow when Brianna Bogard, a junior transfer from East Tennessee State, went down with a torn ACL against Chicago State on Nov. 18. Bogard, who started each of the first four games at point guard and was leading the Mavs in scoring at 14.3 ppg, is out for the season.
Kelly Moving Up All-Time Blocks Chart
Junior center Taijhe Kelly is climbing her way up the career blocked shots chart at UNO. Kelly has 168 career blocks to rank second in school history. 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. 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 were 26 more than the next closest competitor. Kelly is tied for the school record with seven blocked shots in one game, which she did on Feb. 7, 2013 against Western Illinois.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 8-7 overall and 0-1 in the Summit League after a conference-opening 84-62 loss to Western Illinois last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.1), opponents' field goal percentage (35.8) and opponents' 3-point percentage (27.3). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Felicia Anderson adds 10.0 ppg off the bench. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game, which is eighth in the nation and leads the Summit. Madi Robson leads the team with 4.8 assists per game to rank fourth in the conference.
North Dakota State is 3-13 overall and 0-2 in the Summit League. The Bison are 0-6 on the road this season and enter Thursday's game on a nine-game losing skid. NDSU dropped league games to Fort Wayne (98-89, 2OT) and IUPUI (71-46) on opening weekend. The Bison have three players scoring in double figures - Brooke LeMar (15.1), Marena Whittle (12.3) and Holly Johnson (11.6). Whittle adds a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, while LeMar leads the team in assists with 4.9 per game.
South Dakota State, the five-time defending Summit League champion, is 11-7 overall and 2-0 in league play with wins over IUPUI (63-57) and Fort Wayne (77-60). SDSU plays at Western Illinois Thursday night. The Jackrabbits are very balanced this season with Megan Waytashek's team-best 11.3 points per game ranking just 15th in the league. However, six other players average 5.9 or more points per game. Steph Paluch, a senior who missed last season due to injury, averages 8.7 ppg, while Mariah Clarin chips in 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Gabby Boever adds 6.0 points and 2.7 assists per game. SDSU was picked as the preseason favorite to win the conference for a sixth straight time.
Series History
UNO holds a 31-30 edge in the all-time series with South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits beat the Mavs, 74-64, on Jan. 26, 2013 at the Sapp Fieldhouse, then earned a 69-56 win over the Mavs in Brookings on Feb. 21 last season.
North Dakota State leads the all-time series with UNO, 42-10. The Mavs defeated NDSU, 61-52, on Jan. 24, 2013 at the Sapp Fieldhouse. But the Bison tripped up the Mavs, 63-62, on Feb. 23 in Fargo.
Up Next
The Mavericks hit the road for the first time this month when they head to Denver for an 8 p.m. (CT) game next Thursday, Jan. 23.
Maverick Notes
• Ericka House's 3.2 three-pointers made per game lead the Summit League, and she has reached double figures in every game except for the season opener. House is shooting 85.7 percent (30-of-35) from the free throw line to rank sixth in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has five 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring nine times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.4 blocked shots per game and ranks eighth nationally. Kelly has also recorded at least six rebounds in six straight games. She ranks second in the league with 7.3 rebounds per game on the season. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 157 career offensive rebounds and is just 15 away from the top five.
• UNO is 7-1 when outscoring its opponent in the paint and are 5-0 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - Western Illinois notched an 84-62 win over the Omaha women's basketball team in the Summit League opener for both teams last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavericks fell to 8-7 overall and 0-1 in Summit League play. Western Illinois, the top scoring team in the league at 82.5 points per game entering Saturday, improved to 9-7 and 1-0 in league play. Mikaela Shaw had a career-high 17 points on 8-of-12 from the field for UNO. She also had five rebounds. Ericka House had 16 points but connected on just 5-of-23 from the floor. Felicia Anderson had nine points off the bench, and Lanese Bough finished with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. The Leathernecks came in to the game averaging 117 points in their last two games and picked up where they left off, shooting 44.0 percent (11-of-25) from 3-point range. WIU shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the floor overall but was shooting 55.8 percent until the final eight minutes of the game, when it hit just 3-of-18 to finish the game. WIU also connected on 19-of-22 free throws in the game, while the Mavs went 6-of-9 from the stripe. UNO shot just 34.8 percent from the field (24-of-69) and 28.6 percent from 3-point range (8-of-28).
Youth Movement
The Mavericks are by far the least experienced team in The Summit League this season. Seven of the 10 Mavericks who have played this season are first-year Division I players - five freshmen and two junior transfers. As of Jan. 14, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.4 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest is North Dakota State at 25.4 percent. In addition, the seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 64.7 percent of the Mavericks' points, 74.0 percent of rebounds and 88.6 percent of assists entering Thursday's game. No other Summit League team is above 30 percent in any category.
Injury Bug Leaves Already Young Mavs Shorthanded
The Mavericks entered the season with a young team and just 11 players, but the Mavs' youth became even more transparent when two upperclassmen were lost for the season due to knee injuries. Junior Cathleen Cox suffered a torn ACL in the preseason, re-injuring the same knee that she did back 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, along with Taijhe Kelly and Ericka House. The Mavs were counting on big contributions from their class of eight newcomers, but that too took a bit of a blow when Brianna Bogard, a junior transfer from East Tennessee State, went down with a torn ACL against Chicago State on Nov. 18. Bogard, who started each of the first four games at point guard and was leading the Mavs in scoring at 14.3 ppg, is out for the season.
Kelly Moving Up All-Time Blocks Chart
Junior center Taijhe Kelly is climbing her way up the career blocked shots chart at UNO. Kelly has 168 career blocks to rank second in school history. 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. 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 were 26 more than the next closest competitor. Kelly is tied for the school record with seven blocked shots in one game, which she did on Feb. 7, 2013 against Western Illinois.
Players Mentioned
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