FORT SMITH, Ark. - Arkansas-Fort Smith used a 9-0 run to erase Newman's 32-28 halftime lead, then limited the Jets to just 22 second-half points as Newman dropped its Heartland Conference opener in a 70-54 decision to the Lions Saturday afternoon in Fort Smith, Ark. Philicia Kelly used a 12-for-17 performance at the free throw line to lead Newman with 15 points.

Newman (9-6) controlled the early stages of Saturday's game. The Jets scored the first six points of the game, and held Arkansas-Fort Smith (11-4) for more than three minutes The Lions responded with an 8-3 run, and pulled to within one, 9-8, by the 14:19 mark. A pair of Philicia Kelly free throws, followed by a Rhea Codio steal and lay-up, and an Alex Adekunle jumper allowed the Jets to push their lead back to five, 15-10, by the 12:19 mark. The Lions kept things interesting for the next four minutes, but a Codio trey at the 7:53 mark broke a 20-20 tie, and sparked a 9-1 run that gave the Jets a 29-21 lead after another Kelly free throw with 4:26 remaining on the first-half clock. The Jets maintained that eight-point lead until the final 90 seconds of the first half, when a Coby Hill lay-up sparked a 5-1 run that narrowed Newman's lead to 32-28 by halftime.

Bobbi Coleman opened the second-half scoring by pushing Newman's lead back to six, 34-28, on the Jets' second possession of the second half, but a Tashley Gaines jumper on the following UAFS possession sparked a 9-0 run that gave the Lions their first lead of the game, a 35-34 advantage with 17:57 still to play in the game. UAFS pushed that lead to three on the following possession, but Newman forced two ties and two lead changes over the next four minutes before the Lions took things into their own hands. An Adel Morris at the 12:20 mark broke a 42-42 tie, and was part of a 14-2 Lion run that gave the hosts a 54-42 lead after a Gaines free throw with 7:04 still to play. That run proved to be too much for the Jets to overcome, as the Lions held their double-digit lead through the remainder of the game, and picked up the 70-54 win.

Philicia Kelly was held to a one-for-five effort from the field, but hit 12 of her 17 free throw attempts en route to a team-high 15 points. Rhea Codio added 13 points and grabbed four rebounds to tie Tasha Cannon and Alex Adekunle with a team-high four rebounds. After shooting 55.0 percent (11-20) from the field in the first half, Newman shot just 5-for-19 (.263) from the field in the second half.

Coby Hill led the Lions with 23 points and eight rebounds.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 9-6 on the season. Newman will return to action Thursday, traveling to Laredo, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils in a 5:30 p.m. contest inside the TAMIU Kinesiology Building.