Box Score JOPLIN, Mo. - A career night from senior Satoria Bell helped lead the Newman women's basketball team to a 67-50 win over Missouri Southern Friday evening at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, Mo. Bell finished with 37 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Facing her alma mater for the first time, Newman head coach Jaime Green must have been happy with the way her team started the game. Sam Soyez blocked Missouri Southern's first shot of the game, and Alina Voronenko cashed in on the next two possessions to give the Jets an early 4-0 lead. The Lions countered with four-straight pionts to tie the game at 4-4, but the Jets refused to surrender the lead. MSSU had tied the game at 6-6 before Tasha Cannon's jumper gave Newman an 8-6 lead. Newman extended its lead to 10-6 after a pair of technical foul free throws were converted by Kianna Flannagan.

Missouri Southern snagged a brief 13-12 lead after a Kelby Fritz three-pointer, but four-straight Newman points gave the Jets a 16-13 lead at the halfway point of the first half. Newman held the lead until a Tatianna Washington jumper with 5:55 remaining broke a 21-19 tie, and gave the Lions a 21-19 lead. From there, it was a battle to the finish. The final five minutes of the half saw two ties and three lead changes, and when the horn sounded after 20 minutes, MSSU held a 26-25 lead.

The Lions scored the first four points of the second half, and took a 29-25 lead just two minutes into the final period before extending their lead to 32-27 with 17:1 to play, but Newman was far from finished. A Voronenko lay-up with 16:43 to play sparked a 9-2 run, capped by a Satoria Bell lay-up, that gav Newman a 36-34 lead with 13:57 remaining. MSSU answered with a quick two to tie the game at 36-36, but a Soyez trey sparked a 17-3 Newman run, capped by another Bell lay-up, that gave the Jets a 53-39 lead with six minute still to play.

The final six minutes of the game were simply ugly. Back-to-back technical fouls were assessed to the MSSU bench, resulting in the ejection of the Lions' head coach Maryann Mitts, who received a technical foul in the first half, along with MSSU assistant coach Ronda Hubbard, who earned both second-half technicals. Bell converted all four free throws and gave the Jets a 57-41 lead with 5:38 remaining. Two minutes later, Bell drained a jumper to give the Jets their largest lead of the night, an 18-point, 59-41 advantage that allowed Neman to coast to the end of the game for the 67-50 win.

Satoria Bell's career-high 37 points led all scorers. The senior added nine rebounds to a 14-for-27 effort from the field, and an 8-for-9 outing from the free throw line. Tasha Cannon added 11 points and tied Bell for the team-high in rebounding with nine boards. Newman's starters accounted for 59 of the Jets' 67 points.

Tatianna Washington scored 16 points to lead the Lions.

As a team, Newman shot 45 percent (27-60) from the field, and converted 68.8 percent (11-16) of its free throw attempts. The Jets out-rebounded the Lions 36-30, and forced 24 turnovers.

With the win, the Jets improve to 5-1 on the season. They will return to action Saturday, taking on NAIA foe Evangel in a 1 p.m. contest in Game 3 of the MSSU Pizza Hut/Fairfield Inn Thanksgiving Classic. Evangel dropped a 77-59 decision to Arkansas-Fort Smith Friday in the tournament opener.