Mavericks Return to Form with Huge Win Over Saint Mary

Sunday, December 11

Omaha, Neb.

2:05 P.M.

Omaha

5-5,0-0Summit League

Saint Mary

0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	F
St. Mary (NE)	2	12	8	12	34
Omaha	17	22	23	22	84

Photo by: Bonnie Ryan

Mavericks Return to Form with Huge Win Over Saint Mary

Dec 11, 2022 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

OMAHA, Neb. - Following a four-game road trip, the Mavericks made the most of their only home game in December by downing the College of Saint Mary 84-34 Sunday afternoon.

Omaha is back at .500 after improving to 5-5, while the Flames are 3-8.

Leaders For Omaha
For the first time this season, Akili Felici was Omaha's top scorer with a career-high 17 points today, shooting 5-for-8 (.625), including 3-for-6 on three-pointers.

Jaylen Townsend (15 points) and Grace Cave (12 points) were right behind Felici, with Townsend also making three from deep and Cave also leading the team in steals (four) and assists (three).

Brooklyn Smith led the Mavericks in rebounds for the first time in her career with a season-best eight boards.

Leaders for Saint Mary
Madelyn Turner, Bailey White, and Kaylin Garza were tied for the team lead with six points each, while Clare Lewandowski's eight rebounds paced the Flames.

Team Stats
Omaha led the Saint Mary in nearly every major category, outshooting them 42.9% (30-for-70) to 23.6% (13-for-55), as well as going 14-for-15 (93.3%) on free throws vs. just 2-for-2. The Mavericks also held the edge in rebounds (52 to 30), steals (14 to 6), and turnovers (13 to 23).

Inside the First Quarter
Omaha completely dominated the court in the first period, outscoring the Flames 17-2. The Mavericks shot 7-for-16 (43.75%) during the quarter vs. just 1-for-12 (8.33%) for the Flames. Omaha's defense played a large role in suppressing Saint Mary's offense as they racked up seven steals, led by Cave with three.

Offensively, the Mavericks scored 10 in a row before Saint Mary got on the board. Cave scored the first five on a couple of layups and a free throw, before adding three more on a 3-PT FG at 5:15. Morgann Gardner then scored five of her own in the second half of the quarter, followed by Felici who capped things off with a layup with two seconds remaining.

Inside the Second Quarter
The Flames made up a little bit of ground in the second period, but it was not enough to overcome Omaha's potent offense. Ana Nikulochkina, Felici, and Jaylen Townsend all had a three-pointer within the first five minutes to give the Mavericks a 30-12 lead.

Following a jumper from Lewandowski at 4:20, the Mavericks scored nine unanswered to close out the half as Townsend sunk another from behind the arc, followed by Cave going coast-to-coast on back-to-back plays within 20 seconds of each other before Townsend ended the period with another jumper.

Inside the Third Quarter
Omaha again held the Flames to single digits as they outscored Saint Mary 23-8 to open the second half. Though the first five minutes were relatively quiet for both teams, the Mavericks erupted over the final five minutes to score 19 points.

Kennedi Grant and Aaliyah Stanley made back-to-back layups at 4:57 and 4:37 to kick off a 17-0 scoring run. Grant would go 5-for-5 from the stripe and score another layup during this run, while Polina Nikulochkina would take a quick pass from her sister and drain her first three-pointer of the contest.

Inside the Fourth Quarter
The Mavericks began the fourth with nine straight points to extend their scoring run to 26-0. Polina opened things up with her second three-pointer of the day, followed by three straight-layups from her, Felici, and Gardner. Felici would finish off the day with two more from beyond the arc to give Omaha its largest victory of the season so far.

Next Up
With their one and only home game in December finished, the Mavericks will be back on the road this Friday when they begin another four-game road trip with a 7 p.m. game at Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado.