WICHITA - A 20-point outing from Rainey Nickel wasn't enough to lift the Newman women's basketball team in their home opener, as the Jets dropped a 70-51 decision to Lone Star Conference rival Cameron Tuesday night in front of 226 fans inside Fugate Gymnasium.

Newman (0-2) scored on its opening possession when Monique Pitts' jumper salied through the basket to give the Jets an early 2-0 decision. Cameron (1-0) countered with a three-pointer from Tera Tremayne to take a 3-2 lead, and it was all Aggies from there. Cameron maintained a lead of at least five points through the first 10 minutes of the game, and led by nine, 16-7, at the 11:15 mark before a traditional three-point play by Nickel sparked a 7-0 rally that brought Newman back to within two, 18-14, by the 9:05 mark. The Aggies responded with five-consecutive points to push the lead out to nine, 23-14, by the 7:35 point, and were never seriously threatened through the remainder of the opening half. When the halftime horn sounded, Cameron owned a 35-28 edge.

It didn't get much better for the Jets in the second half. An early 8-1 run by the Aggies gave them a 12-point, 46-34 lead with 11:07 to play. Newman used a 6-0 push over the next two minutes to cut the lead to six, 46-40, with 9:01 still to play, but a 14-4 Cameron run over the next six minutes put the game out of reach, and gave the black-clad Aggies a 60-44 lead with just three minutes remaining. From there, the Aggies were able to coast to the finish line, and earn the 70-51 win.

Nickel's 20 points led all scorers in the game, while here three rebounds were one short of a team-high. Jessica Forshee, Melissa Brockleman, and Nikita Norwood teamed up to pace the Jets on the boards, grabbing four rebounds each. Monique Pitts added 12 points for the Jets as the only other Newman player to finish with double-figure scoring numbers.

Lyndie Neville hit 13 free throws and led Cameron with 15 points, while Amber Schroer and Josie Stewart led the Aggies with eight rebounds.

As a team, the Jets converted 19 of their 52 attempts from the floor (36.5 percent), and made 10 of their 18 free throws (55.6 percent). Newman was out-rebounded 40-29 in the contest, but won the turnover battle, committing 22 turnovers, while Cameron was credited with 23 turnovers.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 0-2 on the season. They will head west this weekend, traveling to Denver for the Catholic Schools Tournament hosted by Regis University. Newman will meet the hosts, taking on the Regis Rangers in a 6 p.m. contest Friday evening.