VERMILLION, S.D. – Omaha fell on the road Saturday night at South Dakota, 105-70. Frankie Fidler and Felix Lemetti scored 11 points each, but it was not enough to stop the hot shooting Coyotes.
The Mavericks fall to 3-16 overall and 2-6 in the Summit League.
Leaders for Omaha
Fidler and Lemetti led the Mavericks with 11 points each. Both hit one from long range. Akol Arop grabbed a team-high five boards, while Marco Smith and Lemetti each tallied two assists.
Arop blocked a game-high three shots.
Leaders for South Dakota
Mason Archambault poured in a game-high 25 points on 4-of-9 from the field. Fifteen of his points came at the charity stripe. He also recorded USD’s only block in the game.
Tasos Kamateros (15), Kruz Perrott-Hunt (15), Keaton Kutcher (11), Erik Oliver (11), and Hunter Goodrick also scored double-figures on the night. Goodrick finished with a double-double tallying 13 boards. Kamateros added eight assists.
Team Stats
The Mavericks shot 47.3 percent from the field and connected on 4-of-12 attempts from long range. It wasn’t enough to match USD’s 51.8 percent from the field and 17 three-pointers made.
Omaha held a 28-22 advantage in the paint.
Inside the First Half
Fidler and Arop scored on Omaha’s first two possessions to take a 4-2 edge out of the opening tip. It would be the only Maverick lead of the first half following a three-pointer from Kruz Perrott-Hunt on USD’s next trip down the floor. The Coyotes extended their lead to eight points at the 13:13 mark with a three from Tasos Kamateros.Kyle Luedtke and Hughes cut it back down to four with two consecutive buckets for Omaha.
Back-to-back jumpers by Fidler and Ferrarini from long range kept Omaha within four of South Dakota midway through the first half. The Coyotes responded with a 23-3 run holding Omaha without a field goal for over seven minutes. Lemetti broke the stretch with a deep three with 3:14 on the clock. USD led 57-33 at the halftime break.
Inside the Second Half
Dylan Brougham came out of the break looking to spark the Maverick offense with a dunk for their first points of the half. Brougham and Fidler then scored on back-to-back possessions inside the 17-minute mark. The Coyotes always had an answer to keep the lead in their favor.
A pair of free throws at 13:25 from Archambault sparked a 19-4 run over the next six minutes for USD. Smith hit a jumper at the 6:56 mark to snap the run. Despite 17 points from Omaha in the final five minutes, South Dakota held on for a 105-70 win.
Noting Tonight’s Game
-Fidler’s 11 points marks the 10th time this season he’s scored 10 or more points in a game.
-Lemetti joined him in double-figure with 11 points which marks his eighth of the year.
Up Next
The Mavericks play one game on the road next weekend. Omaha heads to Denver Jan. 22 for a 3 p.m. CT.
Omaha, NE. – The Omaha Mavericks fell to the South Dakota Coyotes 68-45 Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena. Three different Mavericks reached double digits including Grace Cave and Mariah Murdie who both scored a team-high 12 points.
Leaders For Omaha
Murdie and Cave led the way for Omaha with 12 points each, Murdie also hauled in seven rebounds and blocked four shots. She’s now blocked at least three shots in two of her last three games. Senior Josie Filer also reached double digits for the Mavericks with 10 points to go along with her seven boards.
Leaders for South Dakota
The Coyotes were led by their redshirt senior duo Liv Korngable and Chloe Lamb. Korngable scored a team-best 18 points including a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Lamb chipped in 12 points and dished out five assists. Hannah Sjerven hauled in a team-high six rebounds.
Team Stats
Omaha shot 33.3 (16-48) percent from the field and drained four shots from beyond the arc. South Dakota was an efficient 50 (24-48) percent from the field as well as from beyond the arc, making seven of their 15 three point attempts. The Coyotes outrebounded the Mavericks 29-28 and scored 30 points from Omaha turnovers.
Inside the First Quarter
The Mavericks held their own in the first quarter. After falling down 7-2 early, Omaha responded with a Sam Mitchell three pointer and a Cave jumper to tie it back up at seven. A cave three just before the end of the period made the score 13-12 in favor of the Coyotes at the end of the quarter.
Inside the Second Quarter
South Dakota started the second quarter on a 15-1 run, with two back-to-back Korngable three’s giving the Coyotes the 28-13 lead. A Sophie Johnston three with 17 seconds left in the half was followed by a Lamb free throw in the final seconds and South Dakota took a 36-22 lead into the half.
Inside the Third Quarter
Cave started the second half with a pull up jumper from the top of the key, Filer later followed up with a bucket of her own to cut the deficit to 36-24. Two South Dakota three’s before the end of the period made the score 56-35 heading into the fourth.
Inside the Fourth Quarter
Murdie scored eight of the Mavericks 10 fourth-quarter points, but the Coyotes were able to maintain their double-digit advantage throughout the quarter to take home the 68-45 victory.
Next Up
The Mavericks will host the Denver Pioneers on Thursday, Jan. 20 at Baxter Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
