WICHITA, Kan. — Starting off the second half of the Heartland Conference season with a roadtrip, the Newman women's basketball team heads south to face Texas A&M International Thursday evening at 5:30.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (9-8, 3-6 Heartland) suffered a pair of tough losses last week after holding fourth quarter leads. Newman was up by one entering the final frame Thursday in a 55-50 loss to Rogers State, and held a lead as late as 4:59 left Saturday against Arkansas-Fort Smith before the Lions pulled away with a hot finish to win 84-68. Erica Olerich averaged 8.0 points and 8.5 rebounds over the two games, while Shaunice Robinson posted 22 points against the Hillcats.

                LEADERS

                Shaunice Robinson, Senior-12.8 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 spg, 81.4 FT%

                Brianna Caldwell, Junior-9.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.2 spg, 92.0 FT%

                Natalia Hausmann, Junior-5.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.0 apg

                Erica Olerich, Junior-4.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 44.7 FG%

                Bria DeGrate, Freshman-4.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Dustdevils (9-8, 6-3 Heartland) have won three in a row and five of their past six to move into a tie for second place in the conference standings. Capping off that run is an impressive 73-53 win over St. Mary's, a team they are tied with at 6-3 in the league, last Thursday. TAMIU outscored the Rattlers in every quarter, including 24-10 in the second to take a 15-point lead into halftime. Keiona Mathews netted 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Jessica Prieto added 18 and eight to go with four assists and two steals.

                LEADERS

                Keiona Mathews, Senior-21.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.6 spg, 44.6 FG%

                Jessica Prieto, Senior-19.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.0 spg

                Hannah Beede, Junior-8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 38.0 3FG%

                Chelsea Salom, Senior-4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.2 spg

                Rosebrooke Hunt, Junior-3.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 50.9 FG%

HISTORY LESSON

TAMIU picked up a 62-51 victory over the Jets in the first game of the new year on Jan. 2, getting 21 points from Prieto, and an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double out of Mathews. Newman saw Robinson go for 20 points and add three rebounds and three steals. The win was the fifth straight in the series for the Dustdevils, who hold a 10-7 lead in the series.

NOTES

-With this road game, the Jets wrap up a stretch of six straight games against the current top six teams in the Heartland Conference. Newman beat Oklahoma Christian by 20 and forced overtime before ultimately falling against St. Mary's, which are the two teams tied for third with the Dustdevils.

-Newman is 24th in the country and second in the Heartland with a 75.7 free throw percentage. The Jets have hit at least 75 percent of their freebies in each of their last four games and 11 of their 17 overall. Caldwell, Robinson and Mali Wright all hit at at least a 79-percent clip.

-Robinson has been playing some of her best basketball of the season since the calendar flipped to 2016. The senior is putting up 15.5 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.2 rpg and is shooting 43.1 percent from the field over her past six games, scoring 20-plus points three times.

-TAMIU's two dangerous offensive threats have kept up their pace. Mathews is fifth in the country in scoring, with Prieto right behind at 28th, and the duo is first and second in the conference. They are also both in the top 10 in the Heartland in minutes played, 3-pointers attempted and made, and field goal percentage.

COVERAGE

Live video and statistics from Thursday's 5:30 p.m. tipoff from Laredo, Texas will be available at www.newmanjets.com.