WICHITA - The Newman women's basketball team dropped its fifth-straight game Monday night, falling 57-45 to MIAA foe Missouri Western at Fugate Gymnasium. Rainey Nickel posted 14 points in the loss, while Jessica Forshee recorded her second double-double of the season with a 12-point, 12-rebound outing.

The early stages of the game suggested that fans were in for an offensive treat. Newman (1-8) opened the scoring when Rainey Nickel drained a three-pointer on the Jets' first possession. Missouri Western (2-6) countered with a three-ball from Kallie Schoonover, but Nickel drained another three on the next trip down the floor to give the Jets a 6-3 lead. Not to be out-done, MWSU's Lauren Nolke tied the game with a trey of her own on the Griffons' next possession. Over the next four minutes, four lead changes and two ties occurred before MWSU took a three-point edge on a Kayla Vice lay-up, giving the black-clad Griffons a 15-12 lead with 13:37 still to play. A jumper by Hadley Freeman on Newman's next possession brought the Jets back to within one, 15-14, at the 13:10 mark, but those were the last points Newman scored for eight minutes, as MWSU went on a 15-0 run to take a 16-point, 30-14 lead by the 5:45 mark, and cruised to halftime with a 36-20 lead.

Newman opened the second half on a mission, scoring the first 11 points of the final frame, and keeping the Griffons off the board for six minutes, while whittling the lead to five, 36-31, with 14:05 still to play. Missouri Western refused to break, though. A Colleen Schneider lay-up pushed MWSU's lead back to seven, and ignited an 8-3 spurt that extended the Griffon lead back to 10, 44-34, by the halfway mark. The Jets couldn't get any closer than eight for the rest of the game, as Missouri Western escaped Fugate Gymnasium with the 57-45 win.

Nickel's 14 points led the Jets in the contest, while Forshee's 12 points was a game-high. Newman shot just 30.4 percent (17-56) from the field, and 30.8 percent (4-13) from three-point range. A two-for-11 first half effort from the charity stripe sunk the Jets to 41.2 percent (7-17) from the free throw line for the game.

Jessica Koch scored 15 points and added nine rebounds to lead Missouri Western in both categories.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 1-8 on the season. They are back in action Thursday when they host St. Edward's to open Heartland Conference play. Tip-off at Newman's Fugate Gymnasium is slated for 2 p.m.