Box Score JOPLIN, Mo. - Tasha Cannon scored 17 points as the Newman women's basketball team won its second-straight contest with a 70-51 decision oveer Evangel (Mo.) Saturday afternoon inside the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in Joplin, Mo. Cannon was one of three Jets to finish with double-digit scoring numbers.

Newman's Alina Voronenko scored on the opening possession of the game, and gave the Jets a lead they would never surrender. Tasha Cannon added a jumper in the paint to extend Newman's early lead to 4-0 before the Crusaders scored their first points nearly two minutes into the game. Evangel snuck back to within one, 6-5, three minutes later, but a Kiana Flannagan trey, combined with a Satoria Bell lay-up, gave the Jets an 11-5 lead at the 14-minute mark. Again, the Crusaders trimmed the Newman advantage to two, 13-11, with 10:58 to play, but a Bell triple sparked an 11-2 run, capped by an Ariella McGhee jumper, that gave the Jets a 24-13 lead with 7:45 remaining on the first half clock. The Jets never led by less than eight for the remainder of the half, and led by as many as 18 when a Tyana Medema trey gave Newman a 37-19 advantage in the final minute of the half. Evangel managed a lay-up in the final 10-seconds of the frame, but the damage had been done, and Newman led 37-21 at halftime.

The Jets picked up in the second half where they left off in the first. Less than three minutes into the half, the Jets had re-built an 18-point, 43-25 lead. Then a severe scoring drought occured. Neither team scored for more than three minutes when a pair of Cannon free throws gave Newman a 45-25 lead, its first 20-point edge of the contest. The drought lasted three more minutes for the Crusaders, who finally snapped a scoreless streak of nearly seven minutes with a Jamiee Shields lay-up with 10:35 to play. Newman achieved its largest lead of the game when another Cannon lay-up gave her squad a 23-point, 58-35 lead with 5:45 remaining. Evangel was able to sneak to within 15 late in the game, but Newman was never severely threatened on its way to a 70-51 win.

Tasha Cannon led the Jets with 17 points after shooting six-for-nine from the field, and five-for-six from the free throw line. One day after dropping 37 points on Missouri Southern, Satoria Bell added 12 points in a winning effort, while Ariella McGhee finished with a season-high 11 points.

Celeste Key led Newman's rebounding effort with eight boards, while Cannon added seven.

Evangel's Emily Akins led all scorers with 20 points, while EU's Kara Blankenship led all rebounders with nine boards.

As a team, Newman shot 44.9 percent (22-49) from the field and converted 77.8 percent (21-27) of its free throw attempts. Evanged shot 38.3 percent (18-47) from the floor in the game.

With the win, the Jets improve to 6-1 on the season. They will return to action Thursday, traveling to Weatherford, Okla., to take on the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs. Tip-time is slated for 5:30 p.m. inside SWOSU's Rankin Williams Fieldhouse.