With only three returning players, a new head coach and a roster full of new faces, the Omaha women’s basketball team is focused on the small things in 2025.
Coach Jamie Carey said as much at Summit League Media Days in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday.
“I really want to play with a lot of pace,” Carey said. “I don’t know that we’ll get to that point necessarily this year, but I really want teams that rebound the basketball, that play with great pace and play extremely hard, value possessions and really get after it from a scouting perspective. So, that’s the direction we’re headed. We’re certainly learning every day. We’re very young. I appreciate that our kids show up every single day, and I think people will see that with our product that we put on the floor.”
Carey previously served as associate head coach at UTSA before accepting the head coach position for the Mavericks in May. Not only was she tasked with rebuilding a new roster, but she also had to hire a new staff.
In May, Carey announced the hiring of Claire Gritt and Leah Szabla to serve as assistant coaches. They both have playing experience for Summit League schools.
Gritt spent the 2024-2025 season as an assistant at Army West Point where she helped the Black Knights to their first postseason win in school history in the WNIT. She played her collegiate career at Denver, where she was named 2017-2018 Summit League Freshman of the Year.
Szabla previously served as associate head coach at Division-II Augustana. She played at North Dakota, now a Summit League school, and helped lead the Fighting Hawks to two Big Sky championships and two NCAA Tournaments.
Carey said that their experience in the conference and in the region is valuable.
“I knew I needed some people that were familiar with the league, familiar with the Midwest, and I just thought it was really important with a couple of my staff members that you mentioned that were at North Dakota and Denver, and some of those schools,” Carey said. “They’ve been a great addition to our staff. They enlighten me and guide me, and I think that’s been really helpful in kind of getting our recruiting off the ground. So it’s been a good move.”
One goal of Carey’s has been to add homegrown players from Nebraska and the Omaha area, both this year and in the future. She signed two in-state recruits in her 2025 recruiting class, Omaha Marian grad Elsa Vedral and Millard North alumna Avril Smith, and has issued several offers in future class to in-state players.
“I think the Midwest is really special,” Carey said. “I think kids want to stay home, and I think there’s a lot of talent in the state of Nebraska. I think people care about women’s sports in Nebraska, and with our climate, I have a vision and a dream of filling up Baxter. I think when you can put a product out there that people are familiar with, that your community wants to get behind and support, I think it’s a win-win, and I think the talent is good enough to do that.”
Omaha native and junior forward Cora Olsen joined Carey in Sioux Falls. She graduated from Millard South and chose to stay with the program after the hiring of Carey.
“Obviously there was a lot of uncertainty there for a while, but Lindsey (Ekwerekwu) and Adrian (Dowell) were very promising, and they were working quick,” Olsen said. “The thought in the back of my mind was like, ‘Well, if this coach is going to take a chance on me, why not take a chance on them?’ It just seemed, for me, it would be very selfish to leave. It would be very easy, and I didn’t want to take the easy way out.”
In her sophomore season, Olsen played in and started 18 games, averaging 9.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 40.9% from the field and 80.3% from the free-throw line in 24.4 minutes per game.
Fifth-year senior transfer point guard Sarai Estupiñan also joined Carey in Sioux Falls to represent Omaha. She has experience playing for Carey, spending her redshirt year as a walk-on at UTSA before transferring to Old Dominion for the 2024-25 season. She spoke on Carey’s coaching style.
“I think they’re of high intensity,” Estupiñan said of practice. “She nags us a lot about just playing with a lot of effort and just playing every possession, not taking any breaks off, and I think that she also encourages a lot of us to just play super freely, shoot the ball when you’re open, not to think too much, play basketball. They’re fun though.”
Olsen said that during the summer, the team came together at her and another team member’s apartment to establish their hopes for the season and came up with the motto “joy in the journey.”
“I give credit to my kids for coming up with that, but I think there’s a lot of value in it,” Carey said. “We are on a journey. We will be a work in progress, and I do think that we have to find joy in our journey and understand that it’s a marathon right now for us.”
Last season, the Mavericks went 14-17, making it to the Summit League quarterfinals but falling to eventual champion South Dakota State. Carey said she’s excited for the possibilities this year.
“I see Omaha as a place that I can win at, and I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t see that,” Carey said. “I think there is so much potential, in the city, in our athletic department. Our entire athletic department is winning, so there’s something really right going on in Omaha and at our school.”
For now, the Mavericks will continue to prepare for their first game, with Carey’s eye on one thing early.
“I’m most interested in our response and how we compete,” Carey said. “Will that add up into wins and losses? Time will tell, but I want our kids to get in there and compete regardless of whether it’s good or bad. I just want to see us take steps, and again, it’s the progress, it’s the journey, and I think we have to be relentless in that process for us. So I’m looking for growth every single day and everything that we do.”
Omaha opens its season at the Sapp Fieldhouse, with an exhibition game against Avila on Oct. 26. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT.
