Mavs Begin Final Home Week Against Coyotes
Feb 19, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team begins its final week at home with a 7 p.m. contest against South Dakota on Thursday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available on OMavs.com. Thursday's game will also air on 1180 Zone 2 with Jon Green calling the action. Thursday is the Mavs' annual “Pink Night,” as the Mavs raise awareness for breast cancer with the Susan G. Komen Foundation giving a short presentation at halftime. T-shirts will be on sale during the game as well.
The Teams
The Mavericks (10-14, 2-8 Summit League) are led by Ericka House's 17.9 ppg, which ranks third in the Summit League. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Taijhe Kelly puts up 8.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg and a league-best 3.4 bpg. In conference play, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (4.2) and second in steals per game (9.6). UNO is holding conference foes to 41.0 percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league. The Mavs are allowing conference opponents 71.7 points per game to rank third as well.
South Dakota (14-11, 5-5 Summit League) is coming off a 74-56 upset win over IUPUI in Vermillion on Saturday. The Coyotes have won three games in a row and are 5-1 in their last six after starting league play 0-4. Their last three wins over Denver, Fort Wayne and IUPUI have all been by double-digits. Nicole Seekamp leads the team with 14.5 ppg and 3.6 apg. Raeshel Contreras averages 13.2 ppg, and Polly Harrington adds 11.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. The Coyotes are first in scoring in conference games at 76.5 ppg, and they are the top 3-point shooting team (34.7 percent).
Series History
South Dakota leads the all-time series, 36-33. The Coyotes rolled to a 75-51 win over the Mavs at the DakotaDome on Jan. 25. USD built a 42-16 halftime lead and never looked back. Lisa Loeffler had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Coyotes. Polly Harrington had 13 and Raeshel Contreras had 10. Nicole Seekamp, USD's leading scorer, didn't play in the game. Lanese Bough was the only Maverick in double figures with 10.
Last Time Out
FARGO, N.D. - The Omaha women's basketball team led from start to finish in a 68-57 win at North Dakota State last Saturday at Bison Sports Arena. The Mavericks improved to 10-14 overall and 2-8 in the Summit League. The victory snapped a seven-game losing skid and an 11-game road losing streak dating back to last season. Ericka House had a game-high 23 points and a season-best seven rebounds to lead four Mavs in double figures. Madi Robson had 12 points and four assists, while Mikaela Shaw had 11 points and nine rebounds and Taijhe Kelly added 11 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots. As they have in three straight road games, the Mavericks came to play right from the opening tip. Omaha jumped out to an 18-5 lead by the 10:40 mark after a 10-0 run. UNO limited the Bison to 21.9-percent (7-of-32) from the field and 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from 3-point range in the first half.
Up Next
The Mavericks host Denver on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be Senior Day. The Mavs will honor their lone senior, Ericka House, before the game.
Maverick Notes
• Senior Ericka House averaged 26.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game over two games last weekend to lead the Mavericks. At SDSU, House came off the bench and went for a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. At NDSU, House returned to the starting lineup and led UNO to its first league win since Jan. 16 with 23 points and a season-high seven rebounds. House shot 8-of-16 overall and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. She went 5-of-6 from the free throw line, suffering her first missed free throw since Jan. 5 after making 25 in a row. She raised her season average to 17.9 points per game to rank third in the league and leads the league with a 90.3 free throw percentage.
• Taijhe Kelly set a school record with eight blocked shots at South Dakota State. She swatted 13 shots in two games last week and now ranks eighth nationally and leads the Summit League with 3.4 blocked shots per game. Kelly needs just five more blocked shots to break Mary Henke-Anderson's single-season record of 86 blocks, set in 1980-81.
• Kelly posted a huge line at SDSU with a career-high 16 points, season-best 12 rebounds and her career-high eight blocked shots. She ranks second 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 fifth in school history with 186 career offensive rebounds and is 51 away from tying the school record.
• Madi Robson's 12 points at North Dakota State marked the most she has scored since Dec. 31 and the first time she had scored in four games. Robson was 4-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the free throw line and added four assists as well.
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 Feb. 17, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.9 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 26.5 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 58.5 percent of the Mavericks' points, 62.3 percent of rebounds and 87.9 percent of assists entering Thursday's game vs. South Dakota.
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 199 career blocks to rank second in school history. The school-record holder is Mary Henke-Anderson with 291 from 1979-83. Kelly has 82 blocked shots this season and is only five swats away from breaking Mary Henke-Anderson's single-season record of 86, set in 1980-81. On Feb. 13, 2014 at South Dakota State, Kelly became the school-record holder with eight blocked shots in a single game.
The Teams
The Mavericks (10-14, 2-8 Summit League) are led by Ericka House's 17.9 ppg, which ranks third in the Summit League. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Taijhe Kelly puts up 8.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg and a league-best 3.4 bpg. In conference play, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (4.2) and second in steals per game (9.6). UNO is holding conference foes to 41.0 percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league. The Mavs are allowing conference opponents 71.7 points per game to rank third as well.
South Dakota (14-11, 5-5 Summit League) is coming off a 74-56 upset win over IUPUI in Vermillion on Saturday. The Coyotes have won three games in a row and are 5-1 in their last six after starting league play 0-4. Their last three wins over Denver, Fort Wayne and IUPUI have all been by double-digits. Nicole Seekamp leads the team with 14.5 ppg and 3.6 apg. Raeshel Contreras averages 13.2 ppg, and Polly Harrington adds 11.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg. The Coyotes are first in scoring in conference games at 76.5 ppg, and they are the top 3-point shooting team (34.7 percent).
Series History
South Dakota leads the all-time series, 36-33. The Coyotes rolled to a 75-51 win over the Mavs at the DakotaDome on Jan. 25. USD built a 42-16 halftime lead and never looked back. Lisa Loeffler had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Coyotes. Polly Harrington had 13 and Raeshel Contreras had 10. Nicole Seekamp, USD's leading scorer, didn't play in the game. Lanese Bough was the only Maverick in double figures with 10.
Last Time Out
FARGO, N.D. - The Omaha women's basketball team led from start to finish in a 68-57 win at North Dakota State last Saturday at Bison Sports Arena. The Mavericks improved to 10-14 overall and 2-8 in the Summit League. The victory snapped a seven-game losing skid and an 11-game road losing streak dating back to last season. Ericka House had a game-high 23 points and a season-best seven rebounds to lead four Mavs in double figures. Madi Robson had 12 points and four assists, while Mikaela Shaw had 11 points and nine rebounds and Taijhe Kelly added 11 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots. As they have in three straight road games, the Mavericks came to play right from the opening tip. Omaha jumped out to an 18-5 lead by the 10:40 mark after a 10-0 run. UNO limited the Bison to 21.9-percent (7-of-32) from the field and 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from 3-point range in the first half.
Up Next
The Mavericks host Denver on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be Senior Day. The Mavs will honor their lone senior, Ericka House, before the game.
Maverick Notes
• Senior Ericka House averaged 26.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game over two games last weekend to lead the Mavericks. At SDSU, House came off the bench and went for a career-high 30 points on 12-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range. At NDSU, House returned to the starting lineup and led UNO to its first league win since Jan. 16 with 23 points and a season-high seven rebounds. House shot 8-of-16 overall and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. She went 5-of-6 from the free throw line, suffering her first missed free throw since Jan. 5 after making 25 in a row. She raised her season average to 17.9 points per game to rank third in the league and leads the league with a 90.3 free throw percentage.
• Taijhe Kelly set a school record with eight blocked shots at South Dakota State. She swatted 13 shots in two games last week and now ranks eighth nationally and leads the Summit League with 3.4 blocked shots per game. Kelly needs just five more blocked shots to break Mary Henke-Anderson's single-season record of 86 blocks, set in 1980-81.
• Kelly posted a huge line at SDSU with a career-high 16 points, season-best 12 rebounds and her career-high eight blocked shots. She ranks second 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 fifth in school history with 186 career offensive rebounds and is 51 away from tying the school record.
• Madi Robson's 12 points at North Dakota State marked the most she has scored since Dec. 31 and the first time she had scored in four games. Robson was 4-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-7 from the free throw line and added four assists as well.
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 Feb. 17, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 69.9 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 26.5 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 58.5 percent of the Mavericks' points, 62.3 percent of rebounds and 87.9 percent of assists entering Thursday's game vs. South Dakota.
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 199 career blocks to rank second in school history. The school-record holder is Mary Henke-Anderson with 291 from 1979-83. Kelly has 82 blocked shots this season and is only five swats away from breaking Mary Henke-Anderson's single-season record of 86, set in 1980-81. On Feb. 13, 2014 at South Dakota State, Kelly became the school-record holder with eight blocked shots in a single game.
Players Mentioned
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