Box Score Liberty, Mo. -  The Newman women's basketball team overcame some early offensive struggles Saturday afternoon to defeat the Cardinals of William Jewell, 69-62.  Alex Ciabattoni and Chynna Ramelb led the Jets with 15 points apiece in the win.
 
After the Cardinals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, Tyahnna Higgs got the Jets on the board with a layup and two converted free throws to put the score at 5-4 in favor of William Jewell three minutes in.  After several minutes of back and forth scoring, a jumper from Kelsey Nickerson opened up a seven point scoreless run for the Cardinals, who surged ahead 18-10 at the 9:57 mark.  The Jets fought hard to keep the game from getting out of hand in a half where the Cardinals led by as many as 15 at one point.  Little by little Newman chipped away the deficit, and a layup from Ramelb in the final minute of the first half brought the score to 33-25 going into the break.
 
The Jets came out of the locker room with a renewed fire in their bellies, opening the second half with a 13-4 run fueled by three point treys from Anna Sonka and Chynna Ramelb which gave them their first lead of the day, 38-36 with 16:14 to play in the half.  The Cardinals would retake the lead, but only momentarily, as Alex Ciabattoni drained a three pointer which put the Jets back on top 41-39, a lead which they would not relinquish.  Newman carried their hot shooting all the way through the second half, and a jumper from Nique Banks gave the Jets their largest lead of the day, a 13 point margin, with 6:49 to play.  Ramelb converted two of two free throws with three seconds remaining to seal the 69-62 victory.
 
Alex Ciabattoni added another double-double to her already impressive freshman resume thanks to a 15 point, 11 rebound effort, including 3 of 4 from downtown.  Chynna Ramelb added her own 15 point performance, shooting 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.  Freshman Nique Banks added nine points and four steals in addition to nabbing seven boards.
 
As a team, the Jets shot 40.7 percent (24-59) from the floor on the day, and a whopping 50 percent (7-14) from three-point land in the second half.  Newman shot a nearly perfect 11-for-12 from the free throw line, and outrebounded William Jewell 39-34. 
 
Cassy Nicolay led all scorers with 19 points and added 10 rebounds in a double-double effort for the Cardinals in the loss.  Katlyn Wood contributes a double-double of her own, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
With the win, the Jets move to 4-6 on the season (0-1 Heartland).  For their next contest they will travel to historic Allen Fieldhouse to take on the Jayhawks of Kansas University Sunday afternoon.