ADA, Okla. - A new era in the Newman women's basketball program opened on a high note, as the Jets picked up a 72-57 win over the East Central Tigers Friday evening at the Kerr Center in Ada, Okla. Philicia Kelly led Newman with 16 points in the win.

Newman (1-0) scored its first points of the game on its second possession, when Alex Adekunle's jumper gave the Jets an early 2-0 lead. East Central (0-1) answered with a three-pointer from Casi Rawls, but a Rhea Codio trey gave the Jets a 5-3 lead. The Tigers turned to the three-ball once again on the ensuing possession, when an Ashley Robison long ball gave ECU a 6-5 advantage. Back-to-back free throws by Kellindra Zackery gave Newman a 7-6 lead with 17:29 still to play, but those were Zackery's last points of the game. The senior left the game with a leg injury and did not return.

The Jets maintained the lead for the next three minutes, when ECU's Krista Bullis drained two free throws to give the hosts a short-lived 15-13 lead. That lead disappeared quickly for the Tigers, as Newman pieced together a 13-2 run, and took a nine-point, 26-17 lead on a Samantha Soyez lay-up with 7:42 remaining in the opening frame. East Central countered with a 9-2 run of their own, and cut the Newman lead to 28-26 by the five-minute mark, but Newman refused to relinquish the lead, and held a 37-32 advantage at the halftime break.

East Central needed just seven minutes to erase its deficit in the second half, taking a 47-46 lead on a Laura Harris trey at the 13:00 mark, but Newman quickly regained the lead with a Philicia Kelly jumper that sparked a 20-3 run that ended all hopes of an ECU comeback, giving the Jets a 66-49 lead with 4:46 remaining after an Adekunle free throw. From there, the Jets put the game on cruise control, and sailed to the 72-57 win.

Philicia Kelly went seven-for-18 from the field en route to a team-high 16 points, and was one of four Jets to post double figures in the win. Rhea Codio and Tasha Cannon each added 13 points, while Alex Adekunle added 10 points of her own. Cannon was also Newman's leading rebounder, finishing with 10 boards for her first double-double of the season.

ECU's Casi Rawls led all scorers with an 18-point outing.

With the win, the Jets improve to 1-0 on the season. They return to action Saturday as they traverse the state of Oklahoma with a trip to Lawton to take on the Cameron Aggies in a 6 p.m. contest.