Mavs Start Second Half of League Slate at WIU
Feb 4, 2014 | Women's Basketball
The Omaha women's basketball team begins the second half of its Summit League schedule with a road trip to Western Illinois on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Waste Management Court at Western Hall. Live webcast, audio and stats links will be available at OMavs.com.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 9-12 overall and 1-6 in league play after their first trip through the Summit League opponents. UNO is coming off a 77-45 loss to IUPUI last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Felicia Anderson chips in 9.4 ppg off the bench, while Mikaela Shaw adds 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 8.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game to rank 11th in the nation and lead the Summit. In conference play only, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (3.6) and third in steals per game (9.3). The Mavs are holding conference foes to 42.5-percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league.
Western Illinois is 11-11 overall and 3-4 in the Summit League. The Leathernecks are just 1-3 in home conference games this season, though they are coming off a 68-65 home win over Fort Wayne last Saturday. Ashley Luke leads the Leathernecks with 19.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg. Michelle Maher adds 13.9 ppg, and Tori Niemann contributes 13.0 ppg. WIU ranks second in league games in 3-pointers made per game (7.6) and first in steals per game (10.7).
Series History
Western Illinois leads the all-time series, 3-2. The Leathernecks topped the Mavs, 84-62, on Jan. 11 at the Sapp Fieldhouse behind 11 3-pointers. Ashley Luke notched 28 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Mikaela Shaw led the Mavs with a career-high 17 points. Last season, WIU posted a 71-44 win over UNO in Macomb.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - IUPUI got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 77-45 win over the Omaha women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Jaguars (16-6, 6-1 Summit) forced the Mavs into a season-high 24 turnovers and bolted to a 22-2 lead out of the gate to take control. The Mavs (9-12, 1-6 Summit) were never able to get closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Nevena Markovic had a game-high 12 points to lead IUPUI. Eight Jaguars scored at least six points in the game. The Mavs were led by Taijhe Kelly's eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Mikaela Shaw had eight points and five boards. IUPUI outrebounded UNO 43-27 and dominated the paint, 38-12. The Jaguars also scored 32 points off of the Mavs' 24 turnovers and had a 12-0 edge in fastbreak points.
Up Next
The Mavericks play just once this week before three consecutive weeks of Thursday-Saturday games to conclude the season. Omaha is on the road again next week at South Dakota State on Thursday and at North Dakota State on Saturday.
Maverick Notes
• Ericka House's 17.2 ppg ranks third in the Summit League. House is shooting 90.0 percent (45-of-50) from the free throw line to lead the league, and she has made 18 straight free throws dating back to Jan. 5. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has eight 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 13 times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.2 blocked shots per game and ranks 11th nationally. She ranks third in the league with 7.1 rebounds per game on the season and second with 3.1 offensive boards per game. The junior center has moved up to fifth in school history with 176 career offensive rebounds and is 61 away from tying the school record.
• Freshman forward Sami Pawlak made her first career start against Fort Wayne on Thursday, and she was productive for the Mavs with 11 points, seven rebounds and a team-best three assists. She earned another start on Saturday and contributed six points and three boards.
• Freshman Madi Robson ranks fifth in the league with 4.4 assists per game. Lanese Bough is sixth in the league with 1.9 steals per game.
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. 3, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 70.1 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 27.0 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 60.2 percent of the Mavericks' points, 63.3 percent of rebounds and 86.7 percent of assists entering Thursday's game at Western Illinois.
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 185 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 9-12 overall and 1-6 in league play after their first trip through the Summit League opponents. UNO is coming off a 77-45 loss to IUPUI last Saturday at the Sapp Fieldhouse. Senior guard Ericka House ranks third in the league in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Felicia Anderson chips in 9.4 ppg off the bench, while Mikaela Shaw adds 9.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Taijhe Kelly is averaging 8.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots per game to rank 11th in the nation and lead the Summit. In conference play only, the Mavs are first in blocked shots per game (3.6) and third in steals per game (9.3). The Mavs are holding conference foes to 42.5-percent shooting from the field to rank third in the league.
Western Illinois is 11-11 overall and 3-4 in the Summit League. The Leathernecks are just 1-3 in home conference games this season, though they are coming off a 68-65 home win over Fort Wayne last Saturday. Ashley Luke leads the Leathernecks with 19.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg. Michelle Maher adds 13.9 ppg, and Tori Niemann contributes 13.0 ppg. WIU ranks second in league games in 3-pointers made per game (7.6) and first in steals per game (10.7).
Series History
Western Illinois leads the all-time series, 3-2. The Leathernecks topped the Mavs, 84-62, on Jan. 11 at the Sapp Fieldhouse behind 11 3-pointers. Ashley Luke notched 28 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Mikaela Shaw led the Mavs with a career-high 17 points. Last season, WIU posted a 71-44 win over UNO in Macomb.
Last Time Out
OMAHA, Neb. - IUPUI got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 77-45 win over the Omaha women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at the Sapp Fieldhouse. The Jaguars (16-6, 6-1 Summit) forced the Mavs into a season-high 24 turnovers and bolted to a 22-2 lead out of the gate to take control. The Mavs (9-12, 1-6 Summit) were never able to get closer than 13 points the rest of the way. Nevena Markovic had a game-high 12 points to lead IUPUI. Eight Jaguars scored at least six points in the game. The Mavs were led by Taijhe Kelly's eight points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Mikaela Shaw had eight points and five boards. IUPUI outrebounded UNO 43-27 and dominated the paint, 38-12. The Jaguars also scored 32 points off of the Mavs' 24 turnovers and had a 12-0 edge in fastbreak points.
Up Next
The Mavericks play just once this week before three consecutive weeks of Thursday-Saturday games to conclude the season. Omaha is on the road again next week at South Dakota State on Thursday and at North Dakota State on Saturday.
Maverick Notes
• Ericka House's 17.2 ppg ranks third in the Summit League. House is shooting 90.0 percent (45-of-50) from the free throw line to lead the league, and she has made 18 straight free throws dating back to Jan. 5. The senior from Hot Springs, Ark., has eight 20-point games this year and has led UNO in scoring 13 times.
• Taijhe Kelly leads the league with 3.2 blocked shots per game and ranks 11th nationally. She ranks third in the league with 7.1 rebounds per game on the season and second with 3.1 offensive boards per game. The junior center has moved up to fifth in school history with 176 career offensive rebounds and is 61 away from tying the school record.
• Freshman forward Sami Pawlak made her first career start against Fort Wayne on Thursday, and she was productive for the Mavs with 11 points, seven rebounds and a team-best three assists. She earned another start on Saturday and contributed six points and three boards.
• Freshman Madi Robson ranks fifth in the league with 4.4 assists per game. Lanese Bough is sixth in the league with 1.9 steals per game.
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. 3, the Mavericks led all Summit League teams with 70.1 percent of their minutes played by first-year Division I players. The next closest was South Dakota at 27.0 percent. The seven Mavericks new to Division I have combined for 60.2 percent of the Mavericks' points, 63.3 percent of rebounds and 86.7 percent of assists entering Thursday's game at Western Illinois.
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 185 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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