Nebraska-Omaha Women Edge Missouri Western

By David Boyce

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Nebraska-Omaha recovered from one disastrous stretch in the first half in which it gave up 12 straight points and pulled out a 58-55 road victory against Missouri Western.

"What I was happy with was the fact that we came back in the second half and played with some enthusiasm," Nebraska-Omaha coach Patty Patton Shearer said. "I thought we scrapped harder and we were doing some things defensively to take away some personnel."

The Mavericks, who improved to 12-10 overall and 7-8 in conference, solidified a trip to Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament March 4-7 at Municipal Auditorium.

The loss was a major blow for Missouri Western's chances to advance to the conference tournament. The Griffons dropped to 7-16 and 5-11. They remain in ninth place. Only the top eight teams move on to Kansas City.

"It's close in there so every win counts," said Nebraska-Omaha senior Alyssa Green, who finished with 16 points.

Missouri Western was in control during the early portion of the second half. The Griffons expanded their 30-24 halftime lead to 40-32.

But then Nebraska-Omaha hit a lights-on switch and scored the next 13 points for a 45-40 lead.

"I think we came together more and got a little more into the game," said Nebraska-Omaha freshman Jessica Zaruba.

Missouri Western regrouped and started playing for its tournament life. Sophomore Jessica Koch, a graduate of St. Pius X, definitely played with that motivation. She was driving to the basket for layups. She was making free throws.

Her all-out hustle helped the Griffons tie the game at 49-49. Missouri Western even went back in front 51-49 with 2:57 left on a layup by Brittany Casady.

Green, who finished with a team-high 16 points, shook off foul trouble and put the Mavericks back ahead 53-51 on a layup with 1:56 left.

"She (Green) came in, gets open and makes the easy plays and that makes all the difference," Patton Shearer said

Forty seconds later, Zaruba hit possibly the biggest shot of the game when she drained a three-pointer to push the Mavericks lead to 56-51. It was her third three-pointer of the half.

"I remember looking at the score when we were starting our offense," said Zaruba, who finished with 10 points. "The shot clock was running down and we had to get a shot off so I kind of put it up."

Missouri Western still had life because Koch, who scored a game-high 19 points, refused to give up. First Koch made two free throws and with 20 seconds left, she drove the lane for a layup, helping the Griffons close to within one at 56-55.

Green, though, put the finishing touch on the Mavericks' win when she made two free throws with 16 seconds left. Nebraska-Omaha's defense did the rest.

"We definitely wanted to make it a three-point game," Green said. "We wanted to force them to make a three to tie it up."

The inspired play by the Mavericks in the second half was a sharp contrast to the way they played most of the first half.

Missouri Western overcame a 15-8 deficit and went on a 12-0 run to take a 20-15 lead late in the first half. The Griffons maintain control the rest of the half and went into halftime ahead 30-24.

"It was our defense in transition. They were getting easy buckets," Green said.

Patton Shearer felt her team simply didn't play with the energy and enthusiasm needed in road games in the first half.

Still, the Mavericks had freshmen like Zaruba, Jamie Nash and Paige Frauendorfer who played with youthful energy throughout. Nash scored the Mavericks' first five points to give her team an early 5-2 lead.

And Zaruba, who stands 5-feet-6, pulled down eight rebounds.

"I love our freshmen," Patton Shearer said. "They are a feisty, fun competitive group. They are fun to coach."

To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.