Mavs Host Denver on Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m.
Feb 21, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team plays its final home game of the season on Saturday against Denver at 1 p.m. at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavs will honor their lone senior, Ericka House, before the game. Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available on OMavs.com. Saturday's game will also air on 1180 Zone 2 with Jon Green calling the action.
The Teams
The Mavericks (11-14, 3-8 Summit League) have won back-to-back games in league play for the first time since Feb. 2-7, 2013. Omaha is coming off a 69-61 win over South Dakota, winners of five of its previous six, on Thursday night. The Mavs are led by Ericka House's 17.6 ppg, which ranks third in the Summit League. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.6 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Taijhe Kelly puts up 9.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg and a league-best 3.6 bpg, which ranks sixth in the nation. In conference play, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (4.7) and second in steals per game (9.1). UNO is holding conference foes to 40.4 percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league. The Mavs are allowing conference opponents 70.7 points per game to rank third as well.
Denver is 6-20 overall and 4-7 in the Summit League after a 79-76 loss at Western Illinois on Thursday. The Pioneers are led by Paige Bradley's 12.7 ppg and 5.0 apg. Kailey Edwards adds 12.4 ppg, while Theresa Wirth is putting up 10.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg. The Pioneers are second in field goal percentage (44.9) in league games and third in fewest turnovers per game at 14.3.
Series History
The all-time series is tied 2-2. Denver posted a 73-66 win over the Mavericks on Jan. 23 in Denver. Ericka House had 26 points in the game for UNO, while Taijhe Kelly had 12 points and nine rebounds and Mikaela Shaw had 11 points and seven rebounds. Paige Bradley led DU with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Mavs led 52-50 with 11:59 left, but an 8-0 Denver run gave the Pioneers the lead for good.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - Behind Taijhe Kelly's career-high 24 points, eight blocks and seven rebounds, the Omaha women's basketball team upset South Dakota, 69-61, on Thursday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Coyotes came in having won three in a row and five of their last six and were in third place in the league standings. The Mavs went on a 13-0 run early in the game to sprint to a 17-5 lead, capped by a 3-pointer from Felicia Anderson at the 11:34 mark. The Mavs held the Coyotes without a field goal for 7:10 to build the double-digit lead. Anderson's second 3-pointer of the half gave UNO a 17-point lead, 35-18, with 4:01 left in the half. The Mavs had a 40-27 advantage at the halftime break, the first time UNO had scored 40 in the first half this season. USD came back in the second half to take a 58-57 lead with 3:36 left, but Mikaela Shaw scored five of her 17 points in a row to put the Mavs up 62-58 with 1:46 left. Madi Robson's 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining gave the Mavs a comfortable seven-point cushion.
Up Next
The Mavericks finish the season next week on the road. UNO is at IUPUI on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) and at Fort Wayne on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT).
Maverick Notes
• Senior guard Ericka House will be honored before Saturday's game. In just two years with the Mavericks, House has established herself as one of the most prolific scorers and 3-point shooters in UNO history. House has served as team captain this season and ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.6 ppg and is the league's top free throw shooter at 90.8 percent. She is eight 3-pointers away from breaking Karen Thies's school-record 76 3-pointers made in a season. House's scoring average (17.6) is the best by a Maverick since 2002-03.
• Taijhe Kelly scored a career-high 24 points and equaled her career-best eight blocked shots against South Dakota on Thursday. In the game, Kelly became the new single-season school-record holder for blocked shots with 90 this year. She surpassed 86, set by Mary Henke-Anderson in 1980-81. She also became the second Maverick all-time to reach 200 career blocks with her performance on Thursday. Kelly is now 85 blocks away from breaking the career record of 291, also held by Henke-Anderson.
• Kelly has reached double-figure scoring in four straight games, the first time in her career she has achieved that. Over the past four games, Kelly is averaging 15.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 5.5 bpg. In conference play, Kelly is shooting 64.9 percent to lead all players. The junior center has moved up to fifth in school history with 188 career offensive rebounds and is 50 away from breaking the school record.
• With her four assists on Thursday, freshman Madi Robson now has 108 on the season and needs 13 more to crack the top 10 for single-season assists.
• Mikaela Shaw scored a career-high 17 points in the win over South Dakota. She was 8-of-13 from the floor and added eight rebounds in 37 minutes.
Second Time Around
Four games into the second half of the league schedule, things are going much better for the young Maverick squad than in the first seven league games. The Mavs were 1-6 in their first trip through the league slate and led for a combined total of just 40:07 in those seven games, five of which were played at home. After seeing each team once, the Mavericks have played much better the second time around. UNO is 2-2 since the midway point and has led for a combined total of 108:16. Even more impressively, three of the four games have come on the road.
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 207 career blocks to rank second in school history. The school-record holder is Mary Henke-Anderson with 291 from 1979-83. Kelly has a school-record 90 blocked shots this season, surpassing Henke-Anderson's 86 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. She swatted eight shots again a week later on Feb. 20 against South Dakota.
The Teams
The Mavericks (11-14, 3-8 Summit League) have won back-to-back games in league play for the first time since Feb. 2-7, 2013. Omaha is coming off a 69-61 win over South Dakota, winners of five of its previous six, on Thursday night. The Mavs are led by Ericka House's 17.6 ppg, which ranks third in the Summit League. Mikaela Shaw adds 9.6 ppg and 6.7 rpg. Taijhe Kelly puts up 9.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg and a league-best 3.6 bpg, which ranks sixth in the nation. In conference play, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (4.7) and second in steals per game (9.1). UNO is holding conference foes to 40.4 percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league. The Mavs are allowing conference opponents 70.7 points per game to rank third as well.
Denver is 6-20 overall and 4-7 in the Summit League after a 79-76 loss at Western Illinois on Thursday. The Pioneers are led by Paige Bradley's 12.7 ppg and 5.0 apg. Kailey Edwards adds 12.4 ppg, while Theresa Wirth is putting up 10.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg. The Pioneers are second in field goal percentage (44.9) in league games and third in fewest turnovers per game at 14.3.
Series History
The all-time series is tied 2-2. Denver posted a 73-66 win over the Mavericks on Jan. 23 in Denver. Ericka House had 26 points in the game for UNO, while Taijhe Kelly had 12 points and nine rebounds and Mikaela Shaw had 11 points and seven rebounds. Paige Bradley led DU with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Mavs led 52-50 with 11:59 left, but an 8-0 Denver run gave the Pioneers the lead for good.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - Behind Taijhe Kelly's career-high 24 points, eight blocks and seven rebounds, the Omaha women's basketball team upset South Dakota, 69-61, on Thursday night at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Coyotes came in having won three in a row and five of their last six and were in third place in the league standings. The Mavs went on a 13-0 run early in the game to sprint to a 17-5 lead, capped by a 3-pointer from Felicia Anderson at the 11:34 mark. The Mavs held the Coyotes without a field goal for 7:10 to build the double-digit lead. Anderson's second 3-pointer of the half gave UNO a 17-point lead, 35-18, with 4:01 left in the half. The Mavs had a 40-27 advantage at the halftime break, the first time UNO had scored 40 in the first half this season. USD came back in the second half to take a 58-57 lead with 3:36 left, but Mikaela Shaw scored five of her 17 points in a row to put the Mavs up 62-58 with 1:46 left. Madi Robson's 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining gave the Mavs a comfortable seven-point cushion.
Up Next
The Mavericks finish the season next week on the road. UNO is at IUPUI on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) and at Fort Wayne on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT).
Maverick Notes
• Senior guard Ericka House will be honored before Saturday's game. In just two years with the Mavericks, House has established herself as one of the most prolific scorers and 3-point shooters in UNO history. House has served as team captain this season and ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.6 ppg and is the league's top free throw shooter at 90.8 percent. She is eight 3-pointers away from breaking Karen Thies's school-record 76 3-pointers made in a season. House's scoring average (17.6) is the best by a Maverick since 2002-03.
• Taijhe Kelly scored a career-high 24 points and equaled her career-best eight blocked shots against South Dakota on Thursday. In the game, Kelly became the new single-season school-record holder for blocked shots with 90 this year. She surpassed 86, set by Mary Henke-Anderson in 1980-81. She also became the second Maverick all-time to reach 200 career blocks with her performance on Thursday. Kelly is now 85 blocks away from breaking the career record of 291, also held by Henke-Anderson.
• Kelly has reached double-figure scoring in four straight games, the first time in her career she has achieved that. Over the past four games, Kelly is averaging 15.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 5.5 bpg. In conference play, Kelly is shooting 64.9 percent to lead all players. The junior center has moved up to fifth in school history with 188 career offensive rebounds and is 50 away from breaking the school record.
• With her four assists on Thursday, freshman Madi Robson now has 108 on the season and needs 13 more to crack the top 10 for single-season assists.
• Mikaela Shaw scored a career-high 17 points in the win over South Dakota. She was 8-of-13 from the floor and added eight rebounds in 37 minutes.
Second Time Around
Four games into the second half of the league schedule, things are going much better for the young Maverick squad than in the first seven league games. The Mavs were 1-6 in their first trip through the league slate and led for a combined total of just 40:07 in those seven games, five of which were played at home. After seeing each team once, the Mavericks have played much better the second time around. UNO is 2-2 since the midway point and has led for a combined total of 108:16. Even more impressively, three of the four games have come on the road.
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 207 career blocks to rank second in school history. The school-record holder is Mary Henke-Anderson with 291 from 1979-83. Kelly has a school-record 90 blocked shots this season, surpassing Henke-Anderson's 86 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. She swatted eight shots again a week later on Feb. 20 against South Dakota.
Players Mentioned
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