WICHITA, Kan. — Natalia Hausmann and Brianna Caldwell each posted 12 points as the Newman women's basketball team scored 37 points off of 30 turnovers to pick up a 78-39 victory over Central Christian Thursday evening at Fugate Gymnasium.
Hausmann added three rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block, while Caldwell chipped in two more of the 17 steals for the Jets (5-2). Kesha Buckner went 4-of-8 from the floor to finish with 10 points to go with five rebounds, two blocks, two assists and a steal, while Iva Krstevska and Erica Olerich combined for 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as Newman grabbed its second win in a row.
A hot hand got the Tigers (2-7) out to a 4-0 lead early before Olerich scored four straight points to tie things up at 6-6. The guests went ahead two more times, but after going up 10-8, the Jets shot out to a 9-0 run and took the lead for good. Hausmann netted the first five points of the streak, with Mali Wright picking up the final four to push the lead to 17-10.
Central Christian pulled back to within three early in the second quarter, but a Caldwell 3-pointer started a 15-2 run that covered almost six minutes to push the lead into double figures for the first time. Caldwell would hit two more triples during the stretch and Hausmann poured in four more points on two buckets. The Jets would outscore the Tigers 25-9 during the period, with 24 of those points coming from the bench.
The two sides answered each other for the first four minutes of the second half, but a Wright lay-in keyed another 11-0 sprint to bump the lead to 59-27 with 1:40 to go in the third quarter. Bria DeGrate, who went 4-of-5 for the game to finish with nine points, laid in two shots early in the fourth quarter, and the Jets scored the final six points of the contest to close out their final home nonconference matchup of the season.
Newman picked up 55 points from its bench, as 13 players saw the court. All 13 took at least one shot from the floor, 11 netted at least one basket, and all recorded at least one rebound. It was the fourth time in seven games this season that the Jets forced at least 20 turnovers out of their opponent, and the 30 giveaways were the most a Newman side has forced in its Division II era.
The Jets outrebounded the Tigers 49-38 and assisted on 19 of their 31 made field goals.
Newman returns to action Dec. 12, hitting the road to face William Jewell in the Jets' final nonconference game of the regular season.
