Box score: Western Illinois 70, UNO 59
Photo Showcase: Western Illinois at UNO
* * *
UNO spent most of the last 10 minutes trying to overcome damage done in the previous 12.
In the end, there just wasn’t enough time or energy left in what turned into a 70-59 loss to Western Illinois before 431 fans Monday night at Sapp Fieldhouse.
“I felt like we almost wasted the first 30 minutes,” UNO coach Chance Lindley said. “We dug ourselves such a big hole. We had a good stretch where we cut it to six — we were close. But it was such a big hole.”
Sluggish at the end of the first half and early in the second, UNO fell behind by 21 points — 58-37 — with 12:27 to go and still trailed 60-40 with 10:57 left.
But the Mavericks stepped up their full-court pressure. And the increased tempo, if nothing else, seemed to energize them for a while.
“We play a lot of high minutes with some of these girls, so we have to pick and choose when to play it,” Lindley said. “Yes, we would have liked to (have pressed more). Could we have? Probably not.”
Heather Pohl, fouled while sinking a 3-pointer, completed a four-point play to get UNO within 60-52 with 8:01 left. The Mavs could have cut the deficit to five, but Jamie Nash and Amanda Woodring each had on-target 3s rattle off the rim.
Western Illinois’ Saule Kontautaite hit her fifth 3 and teammate Sadie Webb, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds, restored the lead to 65-54 with 5:03 left. But another 3 from Pohl and a basket by 6-foot-4 freshman Taijhe Kelly quickly got UNO back within 65-59.
Pohl missed two shots, the first a 3, that would have cut the margin even further on UNO’s next possession, and Western’s Valencia Kelly countered with a 3.
“They did a good job of fighting back into it, but I also thought we did a good job of keeping our composure,” Western Illinois coach JD Gravina said. “They cut it to six and we hit a big 3. You’ve got to do those kinds of things on the road.”
The Mavs seemed to run out of gas at that point, going scoreless for the final 4:20 while missing eight shots and a pair of free throws.
“You climb back and you’re feeling it, and then they come back and hit 3s and get some boards and it stops your momentum,” Pohl said. “Your momentum can only carry you so far. We’ve just got to do a better job of not falling so far behind.”
Pohl, a senior from Millard West, had a season-high 23 points — giving her 987 for her career — while making 6 of 10 from 3-point range. She also grabbed 10 rebounds while playing 37 minutes.
Nash and Paige Frauendorfer played all 40 minutes, with Frauendorfer recording 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals. But the Mavs’ two leading scorers made just 7 of 31 from the field and neither scored during the final 10-minute push.
UNO (12-10) dropped to 2-8 against Division I teams. Western Illinois, a future Summit League rival, improved to 8-13 and reversed a December home loss to the Mavs.
“We’re a lot better (than in December),” Gravina said. “We’re still a little up-and-down, and having a bad one Saturday probably helped us tonight. We’ve competed pretty well in the conference (4-6) and that’s helped us with our confidence.”
Pohl, who moved into third place in school history with 157 career 3s (passing Tricia Floyd, 1988 to ’92), hit a triple that pulled the Mavs within 30-27 late in the first half.
But UNO turned it over on its next four possessions as Western Illinois scored the final eight points of the half for a 38-27 lead, and it then outscored the Mavs 7-3 to start the second half as UNO had turnovers on two of its first three possessions.
“It’s misleading because we only had 14 (turnovers) for the game, but the trouble is that was had a bunch where it was all in a row,” Lindley said. “That’s what killed us. And they capitalized on them.”
Frauendorfer named player of week
UNO guard Paige Frauendorfer has been named College Sports Madness Independent Women's Basketball Player of the Week for last week's games.
Frauendorfer scored 16 points and had eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the Mavs' 60-52 win at Texas-Arlington on Tuesday. The Humphrey, Neb., native shot 7 of 14 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point range. She also chipped in two assists and two steals in the win.
UNO is one of 10 Division I independents.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com
twitter.com/RWhiteOWH
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds