WICHITA - The Newman women's basketball team ended its 2009-10 season on a sour note, dropping a 53-36 decision to Texas-Permian Basin Saturday afternoon on the team's senior night. Rainey Nickel and Nikita Norwood each scored nine points to lead the Jets.

The team's shooting struggles reared their ugly head right out of the gate Saturday night. Texas-Permian Basin (15-12, 9-5 Heartland) scored layups on their first two possessions, and added a jumper on their third possession to take a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. Melissa Brockleman put Newman (7-20, 4-10 Heartland) on the board with two free throws at the 17:52 mark, and Rainey Nickel added a jumper on the following possession to draw the Jets to within two, 6-4, with 17:28 still to play in the opening half. Little did the Jets know that Nickel's bucket would be their last field goal for better than eight minutes. The visiting Falcons went on a 10-1 run over that time, and had opened up a 16-5 lead but a Ladessa Nachbor lay-up broke the drought at the 9:12 mark. UTPB immediately pushed the lead back to double-figures, reeling off the next four points of the game, and taking a 20-7 lead with 7:43 to play. Under four minutes later, the Falcons threatened to go up by 20, when a Pasha Cornish lay-up gave the visitors a 28-9 lead with 3:07 still to play. Newman showed some life over the final three minutes of the half, out-scoring the Falcons 6-2, but still trailed 30-15 at halftime.

Tammy Acosta answered a Brockleman lay-up with a trey of her own on UTPB's first possession. Callie Norris added a jumper on the Falcons' next trip down the court to give the visitors another 18-point advantage, but a three-ball by Nickel sparked a fire in the Jets. Newman used that long ball to start a 10-0 run that allowed the Jets to pull within eight, 37-29, with 13:41 still to play. Once again, though, UTPB had an answer. This time it came in the form of six-unanswered points that pushed the Falcon laed back to 14, 43-29; a lead the Jets would not recover from. Newman never trailed by less than 14 over the remaining 10 minutes, as UTPB dashed any of the Jets' remaining play-off hopes with a 53-36 win.

Rainey Nickel and Nikita Norwood each scored nine points to lead the Jets. Ladessa Nachbor and Monique Pitts each added a team-high six boards in Newman's final outing of the season.

Miesha Blackshear led UTPB with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

With the loss, the Jets conclude their 2009-10 campaign with a 7-20 overall record, and finish tied with Texas A&M International for sixth in the Heartland Conference. TAMIU will get the final bid into next week's Heartland Conference Championship tournament by virtue of their sweep of the Jets this season.