Omaha defeated Kansas City to earn a trip to the conference tournament championship on Monday, 69-60.
Omaha came out ready to go, while Kansas City had a bit of a slower start than the past couple of games. Grace Cave lit up the first quarter for the Mavericks, draining 10 points, six of which came from beyond the arc. Kansas City’s first quarter scoring was led by Tamia Ugass with six. Omaha led 20-13 at the break.
Maverick momentum continued into the second quarter, but Kansas City came into the second with a lot more fight. The Roos outscored the Mavericks 17-12 in the second frame. Manna Mensah went into the locker room with 11 points for Kansas City, while Cave continued to lead Omaha with 14. The Mavericks led at the half, 32-30.
After the third, Omaha had an eight-point lead, but Kansas City went on a run to cut it down to two. The remainder of the game stayed close, but Omaha was ultimately too much for Kansas City to handle. Graduate center Elena Pilakouta was dangerously close to fouling out, but said it did not affect her play.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it. I knew my teammates had my back and my coaches trusted me to stay out there.”
Pilakouta finished with a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds. Cave led the Mavericks with 19 points.
Having now reached her second championship in her three-year head coaching career, Coach Carrie Banks is ready to take one home.
“The reason it’s so great is just the agony we felt last year not even being in the tournament. The rebuilding process mentally and physically that we had to go through to position ourselves to be here today, I think it was necessary. At the time, it did not feel good. It’s great to be back, but we got one more to go. And we’re looking for the championship.”
Omaha faces No. 1 South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship game at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Kansas City was led by Manna Mensah’s 27 points, four rebounds, and four assists. E’Lease Stafford added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Tamia Ugass tallied 10 points and nine rebounds. Trinity Moreland contributed 14 minutes and five points.
The loss ended Kansas City’s historic tournament run, after a 3-15 conference season. The Roos finished 9-13 overall.
Stafford leads the tournament in minutes with 120, and Mensah scored 82 points over three games and is second in points per game (Kacie Borowicz, UND, 36 points in one game). Mensah is second in minutes with 117, and Ugass is third in rebounding.
First-year Head Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett earned her first postseason win as a head coach and in The Summit League. Kelsi Musick (ORU) and Ruth Sinn (St. Thomas) also got their first Summit League postseason wins. The tournament wins are also first postseason wins at the Division I level for all three coaches.