WICHITA, Kan. — With one final tune-up on tap before the rigors of Heartland Conference play begin, the Newman women's basketball team heads to Liberty, Missouri to face William Jewell in a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday afternoon.
The Jets (5-2) are on a two-game winning streak after suffering a tough loss at the hands of No. 1 Fort Hays State, and have turned in a pair of solid performances, topping Bethany College and Central Christian by an average of 31.5 points. Those efforts — wins by scores of 69-45 and 78-39 — helped lower the team's scoring defense to 54.0 points per game, which is the 16th-best number in all of Division II.
Newman's defense, while putting up good numbers all season, has turned up the pressure over the past two weeks. The Jets have outrebounded opponents 92-74, held them to just 29.9 percent shooting from the field and 18.2 percent from 3-point range. They have also picked up 36 steals — which has helped boost their 11.1 swipes per game to 32nd in the country — and forced 55 turnovers, including 30 against Central Christian, which is the highest total for the Jets in the Division II era.
Individually, the Jets spread the action around, with seven different players averaging at least 20 minutes per game. Six different players have been the leading scorer for Newman in a game, and four players have put up a team high in both rebounds and assists. Senior Shaunice Robinson leads the Jets in scoring, putting up 12.7 points per game. She has scored in double figures in five of the team's seven games, and also averages 2.3 assists and leads the team with 2.5 steals per game.
Mali Wright is the squad's top rebounder, pulling down 7.6 per night while scoring 10.4 ppg. The junior has hit double digits in rebounding three times, and has two double-doubles to her credit, including 12 points and 10 boards against Bethany. Junior Brianna Caldwell is third on the team at 10.1 ppg, and as netted at least eight points in five of the team's seven games, while senior Kesha Buckner continues to do a little of everything, averaging 6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg while picking up eight steals and eight blocks.
The Cardinals (4-7) dropped their first two games in Great Lakes Valley Conference play over the weekend, a week after earning back-to-back wins at a tournament over thanksgiving weekend that pushed a short winning streak to three games. Jewell averaged 83.0 points over that run, before dropping back down after averaging 59.0 last weekend.
Maddie Nelson leads the team in nearly every category, putting up 10.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.2 apg and 2.0 spg, all team highs. Blair Klostermann is second with 9.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg for the Cardinals, while Logan Antenen, Chris Keys and Madison Campbell all put up between 6.6 and 7.9 ppg and 2.7 to 4.4 rpg.
The Jets are 2-1 against Jewell since the 2007-08 season, picking up a pair of wins in the two sides' first series over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. The Cardinals returned the favor last December with a narrow 58-55 win at Fugate Gymnasium. Buckner netted 15 points and seven steals in that contest, while Cierra Tjaden added nine points and five rebounds as the guests managed to hold on to a narrow lead down the stretch.
Saturday's contest at the Mabee Center will be broadcast on 1410 AM (KGSO) in Wichita, with live video, audio and statistics available at www.newmanjets.com.
