GOODWELL, Okla. - Tasha Cannon's career-high 38 points led the Newman women's basketball team to the school's first-ever Heartland Conference championship with a 111-106 shoot-out win over Oklahoma Panhandle State Thursday evening at Oscar Williams Fieldhouse. Senior Nikita Norwood added a career-high 21 points in the win.

Newman (19-7, 8-1 Heartland) took the early momentum in Thursday's contest. A Celeste Key lay-up gave the Jets an early 13-6 lead at the 16:48 mark, but Oklahoma Panhandle State (3-23, 0-10 Heartland) utilized a substitution pattern that resembled that of a hockey line-change, substituting five players on nearly every dead ball, and quickly turned the basketball game into a track meet. The Aggies needed just over a minute to pull within two, 17-15, with just better than 15 minutes remaining in the opening half, but a Nikita Norwood jumper sparked an 8-3 spurt, capped by a Rhea Codio lay-up, that gave Newman a 25-18 lead by the 12:31 mark. The Jets maintained a lead of at least four for the next five minutes, and led by as many as nine when a Celeste Key lay-up gave Newman a 37-28 lead at the 9:11 mark.

Depth issues started to catch up with the Jets late in the first half. A 10-2 Aggie run over the next three minutes forced a 39-39 tie with 6:07 remaining in the half. Back-to-back jumpers from Alex Adekunle and Sam Soyez pushed Newman's lead back to four, but Newman never led by more than four for the remainder of the half. Neither team had separated itself after 20 minutes of play, as the Jets went into the locker room tied at 49-49.

The Jets finally distanced themselves from OPSU early in the second half. A 13-3 run, capped by a an old-fashioned three-point play from Nikita Norwood gave the Jets a 62-52 lead just over three minutes into the second half. Newman extended its lead to 13 after a Codio trey gave the Jets a 69-56 advantage with 14:54 still to play. Both teams continued their up-and-down, run-and-gun style of play over the remainder of the half, but the Jets were never seriously threatened until the late stages. A Key jumper gave Newman its largest lead of the game, a 97-80 advantage with 6:04 remaining. A two-minute scoring drought prevented the Jets from eclipsing the century mark for the second time this season. But four-straight Cannon points finally gave the Jets a 101-89 lead with 3:50 still to play. A barrage of late three's pulled the Aggies to within four in the final 20 seconds, but Soyez and Cannon combined for four-straight free throws to end the game, and gave the Jets the 111-106 win.

OPSU simply had no answer for Newman's inside game. Tasha Cannon went 16-for-21 from the floor, and six-for-six from the free throw line on her way to a career-high 38 points. Nikita Norwood didn't miss a shot in the win. The senior forward went eight-for-eight from the field and five-for-five from the free throw line on her way to a career-high 21-point outing. Celeste Key and Samantha Soyez added career-high scoring numbers in the win. Key finished with 16 points, while Soyez finished with 13. Alex Adekunle rounded out Newman's double-digit scorers with 10 points in the contest. \

Carmela Garcia scored 16 points as one of six Aggies in double figures.

With the win, the Jets finish the regular season with a 19-7 overall record, and an 8-1 mark in Heartland Conference play. The Jets have secured the top seed in next week's Heartland Conference Championship tournament, which is scheduled to begin Friday at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.