Mavs Host Defending League Champ SDSU
Jan 17, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team finishes its five-game homestand with a Summit League showdown against five-time defending league champion South Dakota State on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available at OMavs.com. Jon Green will have the play-by-play for the online broadcast.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 9-7 overall and 1-1 in the Summit League after a 66-48 win over North Dakota State on Thursday. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.1), opponents' field goal percentage (35.3) and opponents' 3-point percentage (26.5). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 18.2 points per game. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.5 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.
South Dakota State, the five-time defending Summit League champion, is 12-7 overall and 3-0 in league play. SDSU rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to win at Western Illinois on Thursday, 67-66. The Jackrabbits are very balanced this season with Megan Waytashek's team-best 11.9 points per game ranking just 14th in the league. However, six other players average 5.8 or more points per game. Steph Paluch, a senior who missed last season due to injury, averages 9.0 ppg, while Mariah Clarin chips in 7.9 points and 6.7 rebounds 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.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha women's basketball team recorded a season-high 14 steals en route to a 66-48 win over North Dakota State on Thursday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Ericka House led the way for the Mavericks (9-7, 1-1 Summit) with 23 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals. Mikaela Shaw had her second double-double of the season - 14 points and 12 rebounds - and the Mavs picked up their first league win of the season. The Mavs didn't trail after the 11:53 mark of the first half. UNO went 14-of-17 from the free throw line with Shaw connecting on 6-of-8. The freshman matched her career high with 12 rebounds and posted double-figure scoring for the second straight game. Six different Mavs recorded at least one steal to help UNO top its previous season best of 12 steals.
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. The road trip also includes a game at South Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
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 86.5 percent (32-of-37) from the free throw line to rank fifth in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has six 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 10 times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.4 blocked shots per game and ranks eighth nationally. Kelly has also recorded double-digit rebounds in six of her last seven games. She ranks second in the league with 7.5 rebounds per game on the season. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 163 career offensive rebounds and is just nine away from the top five.
• UNO is 8-1 when outscoring its opponent in the paint and 7-1 when winning the rebounding department.
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 was North Dakota State at 25.4 percent. In addition, the seven Mavericks new to Division I had combined for 64.7 percent of the Mavericks' points, 74.0 percent of rebounds and 88.6 percent of assists entering the January 16 game against North Dakota State. No other Summit League team was 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 172 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 9-7 overall and 1-1 in the Summit League after a 66-48 win over North Dakota State on Thursday. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.1), opponents' field goal percentage (35.3) and opponents' 3-point percentage (26.5). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 18.2 points per game. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.5 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.
South Dakota State, the five-time defending Summit League champion, is 12-7 overall and 3-0 in league play. SDSU rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to win at Western Illinois on Thursday, 67-66. The Jackrabbits are very balanced this season with Megan Waytashek's team-best 11.9 points per game ranking just 14th in the league. However, six other players average 5.8 or more points per game. Steph Paluch, a senior who missed last season due to injury, averages 9.0 ppg, while Mariah Clarin chips in 7.9 points and 6.7 rebounds 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.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha women's basketball team recorded a season-high 14 steals en route to a 66-48 win over North Dakota State on Thursday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Ericka House led the way for the Mavericks (9-7, 1-1 Summit) with 23 points, five rebounds and a career-high five steals. Mikaela Shaw had her second double-double of the season - 14 points and 12 rebounds - and the Mavs picked up their first league win of the season. The Mavs didn't trail after the 11:53 mark of the first half. UNO went 14-of-17 from the free throw line with Shaw connecting on 6-of-8. The freshman matched her career high with 12 rebounds and posted double-figure scoring for the second straight game. Six different Mavs recorded at least one steal to help UNO top its previous season best of 12 steals.
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. The road trip also includes a game at South Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
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 86.5 percent (32-of-37) from the free throw line to rank fifth in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has six 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 10 times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.4 blocked shots per game and ranks eighth nationally. Kelly has also recorded double-digit rebounds in six of her last seven games. She ranks second in the league with 7.5 rebounds per game on the season. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 163 career offensive rebounds and is just nine away from the top five.
• UNO is 8-1 when outscoring its opponent in the paint and 7-1 when winning the rebounding department.
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 was North Dakota State at 25.4 percent. In addition, the seven Mavericks new to Division I had combined for 64.7 percent of the Mavericks' points, 74.0 percent of rebounds and 88.6 percent of assists entering the January 16 game against North Dakota State. No other Summit League team was 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 172 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
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
