Kenneth Pancake
STAFF WRITER
It’s been a while since Omaha women’s basketball put up 90 plus points–November, to be exact.
In fact, it’s been a while since the team even tasted victor. Their last win was against North Dakota State on Jan. 6 and they had lost 10 of their last 11 games.
But on Jan. 30, Omaha finally broke its losing streak with a victory over NAIA opponent Peru State, 91-44 at Baxter Arena. Every Maverick scored in the blowout result, giving Omaha a little bit of confidence before they headed back into the second half of conference play.
Every team member played at least 14 minutes in what was an exhibition game for Peru State. The team shot nearly 53 percent from the field and they held the opponent to just over 27 percent accuracy.
Omaha came out strong right away, it was evident that the team was hungry for destruction. The Mavericks (7-14, 1-7 Summit) started with a 12-0 run to score 28 points while allowing only six in the first quarter. UNO outscored Peru State in every single quarter.
Omaha was led by Sophie Johnston who scored 15 points (a career-high) while she also gathered three rebounds and dished out six assists. Former two-time Cyprus Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Elena Pilakouta earned 14 points, shooting a perfect seven for seven from the field, while Rayanna Carter and Romekia Wallace each scored 10 points. Wallace added six rebounds; however, Josie Filer grabbed the most boards for the team with 11.
After the 12-0 run to start the game, the lead stretched to 32 points by the end of the first half to bring the score to 46-21. The Mavericks steadily increased their lead and took the largest lead of the game with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Next, the team begins its final half of conference play. After having played North Dakota on Feb. 3 (the result was not available at time of publication), the team will travel to Vermillion, South Dakota to play South Dakota University on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. The team then plays a three-game streak at home against Western Illinois (Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.), South Dakota State (Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 16 at 2 p.m.). The Purdue Fort Wayne matchup will be the team’s last at Baxter Arena.
