FORT SMITH, Ark. - The Newman women's basketball team dropped its fourth consecutive road game Thursday night, dropping a 72-47 contest to Heartland Conference and NCAA Div. II provisional member Arkansas-Fort Smith inside the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Ark. Monique Pitts led the Jets with 12 points and eight rebounds in the game.

Neither team could buy a field goal early in the game, as the first seven points of the contest came from the free throw line. Newman (6-19) made five of its first six free throw attempts, and took an early 5-2 lead when Monique Pitts cashed in on the back end of a two-shot foul. Arkansas-Fort Smith (9-13) scored the first field goal of the game on a Janae Hendreson lay-up at the 16:06 mark, and scored the next 10 points of the game, taking a 12-5 lead at the 13:57 mark when Vasha Sanders drained a lay-up. The Jets countered with their first field goal of the game, an Ellen Traylor jumper at the 13:30 mark, but the Lions used a 7-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 21-9 lead with 9:17 still to play in the first half. Newman could only trim the Lion lead to single digits once, when Ladessa Nachbor converted an old-fashioned three-point play and brought the Jets to within nine, 23-14, at the 6:21 mark, but UAFS finished the half on an 9-6 spurt, and took a 32-20 lead into the halftime break.

Things didn't get much better for the Jets in the second half. Melissa Brockleman's lay-up attempt on Newman's first possession was blocked, and that block seemed to set the tone for the Jets in the final 20 minutes. UAFS opened the second half on a 14-4 run over the first six minutes, and never looked back. Newman never trailed by less than 18 points in the final 15 minutes, as the Lions cruised to the 72-47 win.

Monique Pitts led the Jets with 12 points and eight rebounds, and was the only Newman player to finish in double figures. Newman won the battle of the boards, posting 53 rebounds while giving up 42 to the Lions.

With the loss, Newman falls to 6-19 this season. They will return home for their final two games, starting Thursday when Oklahoma Panhandle State pays a visit to Fugate Gymnasium for the annual Pink Zone game. Tip-time is slated for 5:30 p.m.