Mavs Visit Denver for First League Road Game
Jan 21, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team makes its first league road trip this season when it heads to Denver to face the Pioneers on Thursday at 8 p.m. (CT). Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available at OMavs.com. The Mavericks conclude the road trip at South Dakota on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 9-8 overall and 1-2 in the Summit League after an 80-66 home loss to South Dakota State on Saturday. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.0), opponents' field goal percentage (35.9) and opponents' 3-point percentage (26.8). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game, which is eighth in the nation and leads the Summit. Madi Robson leads the team with 4.9 assists per game to rank fourth in the conference.
Denver enters with a 3-15 overall record and 1-2 mark in league play, but the Pioneers have played a tough schedule with 10 of 15 non-conference games on the road. Denver is led by Paige Bradley and Kailey Edwards, each at 12.2 points per game. Theresa Wirth adds 11.4 ppg and 7.6 rebounds per game and shoots 54.8 percent from the field. Morgan Van Riper-Rose is the fourth Pioneer to average in double figures at 10.5 ppg. Van Riper-Rose was a preseason Summit League first-team selection. Through three league games, Denver ranks first in field goal percentage (49.1), second in 3-point percentage (37.0) and second in free throw percentage (81.7).
Series History
UNO leads the all-time series with Denver, 2-1, though this will be the first meeting with both as Division I schools. The Mavs won the last matchup, 71-51, on Nov. 24, 1995 in Omaha.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha women's basketball team couldn't quite overcome an 11-point deficit to start the game, as South Dakota State grabbed an 80-66 win over the Mavericks at the Sapp Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Mavs (9-8, 1-2 Summit) had good balance offensively: 13 points from Ericka House, 12 from Mikaela Shaw and 11 by Taijhe Kelly (all in the second half) to lead six Mavericks who scored eight or more points. Steph Paluch scored 21 and hit 5-of-9 from long distance to pace the Jackrabbits (13-7, 4-0 Summit). SDSU, winners of the Summit League five years in a row and the preseason favorite again this year, bolted out to an 11-0 lead by the first media timeout at 14:56. In the first 5:13 of the game, the Mavs went 0-for-6 from the field, 0-for-2 from the free throw line and had two turnovers to fall into the 11-0 hole. The Mavs clawed back to get within two points in the first half, and three and seven on separate occasions in the second half, but the Mavs were never quite able to get over the hump.
Up Next
The Mavericks complete their first Summit League road trip of the season when they visit the DakotaDome on Saturday to face South Dakota 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 87.8 percent (36-of-41) from the free throw line to rank third in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has six 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 11 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 eight games. She ranks third in the league with 7.2 rebounds per game on the season and second with 3.2 offensive boards per game. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 164 career offensive rebounds and is just eight away from the top five.
• Freshman Mikaela Shaw has scored in double figures in all three Summit League games and is averaging 14.3 ppg in league play after averaging 8.8 ppg in non-conference play.
• Freshman guard Madi Robson is coming off nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals against South Dakota State. Her seven assists matched her most since Dec. 11, and she is fourth in the league with 4.9 assists per game.
• 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. 20, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.6 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 25.5 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 60.3 percent of the Mavericks' points, 63.6 percent of rebounds and 86.7 percent of assists entering Thursday's game at Denver.
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 175 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 9-8 overall and 1-2 in the Summit League after an 80-66 home loss to South Dakota State on Saturday. The Mavs continue to lead all league teams in blocks per game (5.0), opponents' field goal percentage (35.9) and opponents' 3-point percentage (26.8). Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 7.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots per game, which is eighth in the nation and leads the Summit. Madi Robson leads the team with 4.9 assists per game to rank fourth in the conference.
Denver enters with a 3-15 overall record and 1-2 mark in league play, but the Pioneers have played a tough schedule with 10 of 15 non-conference games on the road. Denver is led by Paige Bradley and Kailey Edwards, each at 12.2 points per game. Theresa Wirth adds 11.4 ppg and 7.6 rebounds per game and shoots 54.8 percent from the field. Morgan Van Riper-Rose is the fourth Pioneer to average in double figures at 10.5 ppg. Van Riper-Rose was a preseason Summit League first-team selection. Through three league games, Denver ranks first in field goal percentage (49.1), second in 3-point percentage (37.0) and second in free throw percentage (81.7).
Series History
UNO leads the all-time series with Denver, 2-1, though this will be the first meeting with both as Division I schools. The Mavs won the last matchup, 71-51, on Nov. 24, 1995 in Omaha.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha women's basketball team couldn't quite overcome an 11-point deficit to start the game, as South Dakota State grabbed an 80-66 win over the Mavericks at the Sapp Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Mavs (9-8, 1-2 Summit) had good balance offensively: 13 points from Ericka House, 12 from Mikaela Shaw and 11 by Taijhe Kelly (all in the second half) to lead six Mavericks who scored eight or more points. Steph Paluch scored 21 and hit 5-of-9 from long distance to pace the Jackrabbits (13-7, 4-0 Summit). SDSU, winners of the Summit League five years in a row and the preseason favorite again this year, bolted out to an 11-0 lead by the first media timeout at 14:56. In the first 5:13 of the game, the Mavs went 0-for-6 from the field, 0-for-2 from the free throw line and had two turnovers to fall into the 11-0 hole. The Mavs clawed back to get within two points in the first half, and three and seven on separate occasions in the second half, but the Mavs were never quite able to get over the hump.
Up Next
The Mavericks complete their first Summit League road trip of the season when they visit the DakotaDome on Saturday to face South Dakota 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 87.8 percent (36-of-41) from the free throw line to rank third in the conference. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has six 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 11 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 eight games. She ranks third in the league with 7.2 rebounds per game on the season and second with 3.2 offensive boards per game. The junior center has moved up to eighth in school history with 164 career offensive rebounds and is just eight away from the top five.
• Freshman Mikaela Shaw has scored in double figures in all three Summit League games and is averaging 14.3 ppg in league play after averaging 8.8 ppg in non-conference play.
• Freshman guard Madi Robson is coming off nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals against South Dakota State. Her seven assists matched her most since Dec. 11, and she is fourth in the league with 4.9 assists per game.
• 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. 20, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.6 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 25.5 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 60.3 percent of the Mavericks' points, 63.6 percent of rebounds and 86.7 percent of assists entering Thursday's game at Denver.
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 175 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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