WICHITA - A late charge broke a tight game open, and allowed the Newman women's basketball team to rally past Ottawa, 60-47, in non-conference action Tuesday evening at Fugate Gymnasium. Ladessa Nachbor went five-for-five from the field and hit three of her four free throw attempts to lead the Jets with 13 points and six rebounds.

Neither team was able to take early control of the game in the first half. Heidi Leinberger propelled Newman (3-9) to an early 5-2 lead behind two jumpers and a free throw, but Ottawa (1-13) tied the game at 5-5 on a Paige Gibson. Newman never trailed in the opening period, but was never able to put the Braves away either. The Jets established a six-point, 16-10, lead by the 11:34 mark, and pushed their lead to 10, 20-10, thanks to a 9-0 run. Ottawa responded with four-straight points to trim the lead to six, 20-14, by the 5:26 mark, but Newman needed just two minutes to regain a 10-point, 25-15, advantage. The black-clad Braves weren't done yet, though, mounting a 10-3 rally over the final five minutes to go into the halftime break trailing by just three, 28-25.

Ottawa scored the first four points of the second half behind a KiKi Smith free throw and another Gibson three-ball, and took a brief 29-28 lead by the 17:47 mark. Two Melissa Brockleman free throws gave the Jets a 30-29 edge just seconds later, but Smith gave the Braves the lead once again on the ensuing possession with a short range jumper. Ottawa held the lead for the next three minutes, leading by as many as four, 34-30, at the 14:55 mark after a Maggie Hasenkamp long ball. The game remained in see-saw status with neither team leading by more than two until the 9:22 mark when a Monique Pitts lay-up gave Newman a four-point, 44-40, advantage that was part of a 17-2 run over the next six minutes. That run allowed Newman to take a 13-point advantage, 55-42, with 3:56 to play, and the Braves couldn't recover. When the final buzzer sounded, Newman had earned the 60-46 victory; their second of the season over an NAIA opponent.

Nachbor's perfect five-for-five shooting performance from the field lifted her to 13 points and six rebounds to lead the Jets in both categories. Pitts finished close behind with 12 points on a perfect four-for-four outing from the field, and one-upped Nachbor with a spotless four-for-four effort from the charity stripe as well.

Emma Hartzler and Maggie Hasenkamp each led the Braves with nine points in the game, which will be counted as an exhibition on their schedule.

The win boosts Newman to 3-9 on the season. They will resume Heartland Conference action Saturday with a trip to San Antonio to face Incarnate Word in a 2 p.m. contest.