WICHITA - Kesha Buckner's 24-point, 12-rebound double double set the tone for the Jets' offense, and DeKendra Ledoux added 17 points as the Jets dropped the Rattlers of St. Mary's 61-45 on Saturday afternoon. Buckner's 24 points led all scorers as the Jets picked up their fourth conference win.

Some early sharp shooting from the Rattlers saw them take a 5-2 lead three minutes in, but a three-point play from Buckner would give the Jets a 6-5 advantage with 14 minutes left in the first half. Buckner then drained a three-pointer a minute later to put the Jets up 9-5, and they would not look back from there. Buckner's three set Newman on a 17-5 run, which stretched their lead to 22-10 with 5:12 remaining in the half. The teams traded shots back and forth as the game approached halftime, and DeKendra Ledoux sank a jumper with 16 seconds left to send the Jets into the break with a 26-14 advantage.

The Jets came back on the floor ready to go in the second half, as Brianna Caldwell scored all 12 of her points in the final ten minutes of the game to lead the way. The Rattlers would not go down without a fight, as they fired off 16 points in the opening eight minutes of the half to keep the pressure on the Jets. Newman proved equal to the task though, and matched St. Mary's shot for shot as they held a 39-29 lead with 11:43 left. Coming out of a media timeout, the Rattlers' Morgan Pullins made a layup and sank her and-one free throw to cut the Jet lead to seven, but that was as close as St. Mary's would get. Brianna Caldwell put a stop to the Rattlers' momentum with her first three-pointer of the game, putting the Jets back up to a double digit advantage which they would not relinquish. Caldwell hit another shot from behind the arc with seven minutes left to give Newman a 16-point lead at 50-34, their largest lead of the game. Buckner, Ledoux, and Caldwell each hit a three in the final stretch of the game to hold St. Mary's at bay, and the Jets would go on to win 61-45.

Kesha Buckner led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, and led the team with six steals. DeKendra Ledoux added 17 with a 7-for-14 performance, and Brianna Caldwell had 12 points and three steals. The Jets shot 38.6% (22-57) from the field and 34.8% (8-23) from three-point range, but shot 48.15% and 46.15% respectively in the second half to pull away with the win.

Morgan Pullins led the Rattlers with 15 points, and Kiara Etheridge had a 12-point, 15-rebound double double in the loss.

With the win, the Jets move to 7-12 on the season (4-7 HC). For their next contest, they will travel to Goodwell, Oklahoma to take on the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30pm this Thursday, February 5th.