ROLLA, Mo. – The Newman women's basketball team overcame an early 13-0 hole to defeat LeMoyne-Owen College, 57-47, on Saturday (Nov. 22) in the Lady Miner Classic, hosted by Missouri S&T. The Jets moved to 2-1 on the season. Cierra Tjaden scored a career-high 21 points.
 
The Magicians scored the first 13 points in the first 4 minutes and 22 seconds of the contest. LOC's Tenesha Wright hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds in, and then Darriel Johnson added a jumper in the paint for a 5-0 edge about 1 minute into the game. A jumper at the 17:37 mark, and two free throws with 17:05 remaining in the half made it 11-0. The lead grew to 13-0 with Latrice Sears's fast break layup at the 15:38 mark. NU took a timeout with 15:36 left in the half and down 13.
 
Over the next 9 minutes, the Jets sliced the deficit to one point at 19-17 after two DeKendra Ledoux free throws. The 3 ball started to fall during the run. Brianna Caldwell scored the first NU points with a triple at the 14:11 mark for a 13-3 score. Tjaden hit a 3 with 13:28 left to make it 13-6. After a LOC basket, Caldwell hit another 3 for a 15-9 score at the 9:44 mark of the first half. Another Magician basket put them in front 17-9 then Tjaden knocked down another 3, and Shakira Raynor hit a 3 for a 19-15 score with 8:14 left in the first stanza. The Ledoux free throws pulled NU to within two points.
 
With the Jets down 24-21 with 2:58 left in the half, Kesha Buckner got in on the 3-point party, hitting a triple at the 1:45 mark to tie the score at 24-24. The score remained 24-24 at halftime.
 
In the first half, six of the seven NU field goals were from 3-point distance. The Jets shot 6-of-18 from 3 for 33.3 percent. NU went 1-of-12 from inside the arc. For the half, the Jets shot 23.3 percent (7-30) from the field.
 
The Magicians started fast again to start the second half, pulling out to a 31-26 lead after a 7-2 run in the first 5 minutes of the second half. Tjaden hit consecutive 3s to put NU in front 32-31 with 14:40 left in the game.
 
With the score tied at 36-36 midway through the second half, NU put the game away with a 16-2 spurt, gaining a 52-38 advantage with 4:48 remaining in the second stanza. Caldwell back-to-back triples put the Jets up 42-36 at the 9:14 mark. LOC scored its only basket of the run for a 42-38 score then NU scored 10 straight points. Caldwell knocked down her another two 3-pointers to open up a 10-point NU advantage at 48-38. She made the triples at the 7:03 and 6:38 marks. Tjaden increased the lead to 12 with a jumper with 5:27 left, and Mali Wright hit a layup for the 52-38 score with less than 5 minutes remaining.
 
NU remained in control for the rest of the game with its lead never going below eight points during the final 4:48. Tjaden went 6-for-6 in the final minute from the free throw line to preserve the 57-47 victory.
 
Tjaden finished with a game and career high 21 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3. She went 7-of-8 from the free throw line. The sophomore also had five rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Caldwell added 18 points – all of 3s as she went 6-of-13 from long distance. She also had a team-high six rebounds. DeJah Thompson and Buckner all pulled down six rebounds.
 
For the game, NU hit 12 3s on 12-of-31 shooting (38.7 percent). The Jets hit six baskets inside the arc, and finished 18-of-56 from the field (32.1 percent). NU shot 42.3 percent (11-26) from the field in the second half. The defense held LOC to 30.4 percent and only seven field goals in the second stanza, as the Jets outscored the Magicians, 33-23.
 
Darriel Johnson led the Magicians with 14 points, and Tenesha Wright added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
NU returns home for three straight games. The stretch starts with Fort Hays State on Tuesday (Nov. 22) at 5:30 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium. Video, live stats and audio will be available for the contest.