GOODWELL, Okla. — Mali Wright returned to early-season form with a huge 28-point, 15-rebound game, with Shaunice Robinson and Brianna Caldwell joining her in double figures as the Newman women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 70-53 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday in Heartland Conference action.
KEY SEQUENCE
After the Aggies (1-12, 0-5 Heartland) cut the lead to four for the second time midway through the fourth quarter, the Jets (8-6, 2-4 Heartland) went on one of their most clutch runs of the season, rambling off the next 12 points of the game in less than three minutes to go up 66-50 and lock up their second conference win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Wright, a junior, scored six of the Jets' first eight points of the games as the two teams went back and forth in the opening six minutes of the game. The Aggies scored on two straight possessions to take their first lead of the game at 10-8 with 3:51 left in the opening quarter.
-A 12-10 lead for the hosts evaporated when Caldwell, a junior, nailed her first 3-pointer of the game, and Newman would lead the rest of the way. Buckets by junior Natalia Hausmann and freshman Bria DeGrate made it 18-14 by the end of the first 10 minutes.
-Freshman Iva Krstevska and Robinson, a senior, each hit baskets to open the scoring in the second quarter, and a Caldwell trey after two OPSU free throws made it 25-16 just over three minutes into the frame.
-As the Aggies twice pulled it back to a seven-point game, Robinson answered with a jumper then Caldwell hit another 3-pointer and Robinson followed with two free throws to get the Jets their biggest lead of the game at 32-20 with 3:54 left before halftime.
-Wright's jumper with 1:34 to go in the second pushed the lead out to 11, but five straight points from OPSU to end the half culled the lead back to 34-28 at the break.
-The Aggies made it a 9-point run overall, scoring the first four points of the second half as well to cut the Jet lead to 34-32 just 47 seconds in, but Wright once again asserted herself on the offensive end, scoring five straight points, including a three-point play to make it a seven-point cushion.
-Newman saw the lead cut to as close as four the rest of the third quarter, but a 6-1 run over a two-minute period late in the stanza pushed the advantage out to 47-38.
-The hosts wouldn't go away quietly, cutting the lead to three after a 5-0 early in the fourth quarter, and answering with shots to make it 52-48 and 54-50 before the Jets went off on their big finish to seal the victory.
NOTES
-The 70 points for the Jets is the highest total in conference play this season and the most since besting Central Christian 78-39 on Dec. 3. The 53 points allowed is also the best defensive performance since that early-season game.
-The 28 points and 15 rebounds both set new career-highs for Wright, who grabbed her third double-double of the season in spectacular fashion. It's her fourth 20-point game of the season and third in six conference games.
-Wright shot 12-of-19 from the field, the 63.2-percent shooting percentage giving her a new high on the season in a game where she matched her most field goal attempts on the season.
-The Jets shot 41.3 percent as a team, their highest mark since the first weekend of conference play, including going 5-of-13 from 3-point range (38.5 percent), their second-best shooting percentage from deep all season.
-Robinson shot 7-of-15 to go for 18 points, adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Caldwell was 4-of-7 — all from deep — to record 13 points to go with six rebounds. Juniors Cierra Tjaden and Erica Olerich put up four assists and six rebounds, respectively.
-The Jets shot 60 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to earn the win, including shooting 3-of-4 from the floor, 1-of-1 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final six minutes as they closed the game on a 16-3 run.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets head back home for a short week, facing Oklahoma Christian at 5:30 p.m. Thursday back at Fugate Gymnasium.
