WICHITA, Kan. — In the midst of facing the top four teams in the Heartland Conference in a five-game stretch, the Newman women's basketball team heads to St. Mary's for a 1 p.m. tipoff Saturday afternoon.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (9-9, 3-7 Heartland) fell to .500 overall for the first time this season after falling to second-place Texas A&M International Thursday evening. That came two weeks after besting the team tied with the Dustdevils — Oklahoma Christian — by 20 points. Against TAMIU, both sides were cold shooting in the first half and headed to the locker room with just 28 points combined. Both picked it up in the second half, but the Dustdevils got hotter to pull out in front. Shaunice Robinson posted nine points, while Lizzy Harrison went for seven and added six rebounds and two assists.

                LEADERS

                Shaunice Robinson, Senior-12.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 2.6 rpg, 1.6 spg, 81.4 FT%

                Brianna Caldwell, Junior-9.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2 spg, 92.0 FT%

                Natalia Hausmann, Junior-5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 apg

                Erica Olerich, Junior-4.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 42.7 FG%

                Cierra Tjaden, Junior-4.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.5 apg

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Rattlers (12-6, 6-4 Heartland) have lost three in a row since starting their conference season 6-1, falling to TAMIU and OC the past two games. They went to overtime Thursday against the Eagles, storming back from down 13 entering the final quarter to force the bonus session, but OC took over from there, ultimately winning 75-63. Kiara Etheridge netted 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss, while Dezirae Elias added 14 points, eight boards and seven steals.

                LEADERS

                Kiara Etheridge, Junior-14.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.7 apg, 42.2 FG%

                Dezirae Elias, Senior-12.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.9 spg, 31.9 3FG%

                LaBraile Fields, Junior-11.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 2.7 spg

                Arysia Porter, Freshman-10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.6 spg, 40.8 FG%

                Emily Troell, Senior-0.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.9 apg

HISTORY LESSON

Newman forced overtime against the Rattlers in their first meeting this season, ultimately falling 68-64 in extra time. The four-point margin still stands as the closest win of the season for StMU, who have won 10 of their 12 games by double digits. Mali Wright scored 27 for the Jets in that one, while Olerich pulled down an impressive 17 rebounds. The win gave St. Mary's a 13-7 edge in the series, although Newman has won two of the past three in San Antonio.

NOTES

-Despite the loss, Thursday was the fourth time in their past five games that the Jets have held their opponent to 61 points or fewer. That's helped bump the squad to second in the Heartland Conference, giving up 60.5 points per game this season.

-The Jets outrebounded the Dustdevils 38-26, their biggest margin of the conference season and the sixth time in 10 conference games they won the rebounding game, with two others ending in draws. For the season, Newman is edging opponents by 2.8 boards per game, which is second in the conference.

-Elias and Fields are 20th and 23rd in the nation, respectively in steals per game, combining for better than five each time out. As a team, the Rattlers are third in the conference with 10.2 swipes per game.

COVERAGE

Live video and statistics from Saturday's 1 p.m. tipoff from San Antonio will be available at www.newmanjets.com.