No. 9 Omaha defeated No. 8 Kansas City in the first round of the 2024 Summit League Basketball Championships Friday evening, 61-55.
The first quarter scoring was plentiful for the Mavericks who posted 21 points to Kansas City’s 15. The Roos went scoreless in the final three minutes of the first frame. Kansas City outscored Omaha by just one point in the second quarter, leaving Omaha with a 28-23 lead.
Out of the half, Aaliyah Stanley contributed four consecutive points to give Omaha some momentum. Deanay Watson added six third-quarter points to stretch the Omaha lead, but Kansas City’s Emani Bennett drained a triple to cut into the lead. The third ended with Omaha up six, 43-37.
Kansas City kept it close through the fourth quarter, at one point cutting the Omaha lead to just two points by way of an 8-0 run. The comeback was not enough for the Roos, as Omaha hit free throws late to secure the win.
Polina Nikulochkina praised teammates as she reflected on being the team’s leading scorer.
“Honestly I would say just thank you to my teammates for finding me and trusting me with the ball, just doing whatever it takes.”
Deanay Watson echoed Nikulochkina’s sentiments.
“If my teammates see me open, get the ball, I hear my coaches and everyone yelling on the bench just to do what I can do. That’s just something I went into the game with.”
Coach Carrie Banks commended her team’s defense during a slow offensive game.
“Trying to minimize their points in the paint, we really tried to keep them off balance with different looks. That was one of our focuses coming into the game. They’re a really talented team.. Limiting their paint touches and points was something that our kids did a better job of today than in previous times…I was really proud of our defensive effort. It’s been one of the things we struggled with all year long… the fact that they were still working on the defensive end.”
For Kansas City, Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett commented on her team’s progression this season.
“I thought we fought to the end. I’m proud of our players fighting to the end…I thought we executed in stretches, which is great for us. It shows a lot of growth. That’s something we need to carry over and we need to keep going with. The last half of our season, we’ve fought in every game. That comes with growth, comes with finding out who you are on the floor… it takes time.”
She continued by making note of the difference in fouls and free-throw attempts.
“The difference in the game is 36 free throws to nine. I’m not saying that Kansas City doesn’t foul. We’re a team that is aggressive to the basket. You can’t tell me we fouled 27 times to their 16… there are places we should have executed, most definitely… I’m not sure what it is about Kansas City women’s basketball and how we play that this is a consistent thing. I’m just stating facts… It’s hard to overcome those things, but it’s okay because next year we will overcome those things.”
Nariyah Simmons was proud of her team and their battle.
“This group has a lot of fight and we’ve shown it on multiple occasions, I feel like seeing my teammates really go after it, it keeps me going.”
For Omaha, Nikulochkina tallied 17 points and nine rebounds.
For Kansas City, Emani Bennett led all scorers with 18 points and five rebounds. Lisa Thomas also notched five rebounds.
Kansas City finishes its season 3-13 in conference play and 12-20 overall.
Omaha will face No. 1 South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 9th, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The game will be televised on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network.
The next game in the women’s tournament features No. 2 North Dakota State and No. 7 Denver at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9th, televised on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network.