WICHITA, Kan. — In a back-and-forth game that saw each team go on short runs but neither able to pull away, the Newman women's basketball team saw a late lead fall, dropping a Heartland Conference contest to Oklahoma Christian 65-62 Thursday night.
KEY SEQUENCE
After trailing — but keeping it close — for a third of the game, the Jets (10-12, 4-10 Heartland) took the lead at 62-61 on the second of two Bria DeGrate free throws with 1:45 to play. A turnover by each team put the ball in the hands of the Eagles (12-12, 9-5 Heartland) with 5.7 seconds left, as Sarah Parker hit two free throws to put the hosts up and then blocked Shaunice Robinson's attempt to put Newman up on the other end.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Lizzy Harrison scored the first five points of the game for the Jets, kicking off the scoring with a 3-pointer and adding a jumper to make it 6-5 with 5:45 left in the first quarter. Robinson kept that streak going with six straight points over the next two minutes to hand the guests an 11-6 advantage.
-The Eagles answered with an equally big run, scoring seven points in just over a minute to jump back in front before the game settled into a back-and-forth pattern. Iva Krstevska nailed a 3-pointer to start a streak of six straight made baskets that switched the team in front. Harrison gave the Jets the lead back on the first shot of the second quarter, and a DeGrate triple did the same less than a minute later.
-Robinson hit a jumper to tie the game at 21-all, and Harrison's second 3-pointer pushed the Jets back in front. They held that lead until OC went on a 5-0 run of their own, but DeGrate got to the line with 32 seconds left in the half to give Newman the 31-30 lead at the break.
-That lead didn't hold for long, as an Eagle bucket on the first possession of the third quarter started another burst of lead changes, with five in the first five minutes. When the Eagles took a 39-37 lead with 5:16 left in the third, the Jets wouldn't lead for the next 14 minutes as the two teams battled.
-Robinson scored five points in 47 seconds to tie things at 45-45 with 2:28 left in the frame, and DeGrate drew things even less than two minutes into the fourth quarter on a pair of free throws. DeGrate tied things again at both 57-57 and again with 3:02 left in the game at 59-all with two more freebies.
-DeGrate gave the Jets their first lead since the midway point of the third after hitting two from the line to make it 62-61 at the 1:45 mark before the Eagles hit their free throws down the stretch to win.
NOTES
-There were 11 ties and 19 lead changes in the game. The lead never got to double digits for either team, as the Jets grabbed their biggest lead at five with nearly four minutes remaining in the first quarter, and the Eagles going up by five at 57-52 before Newman came back to take the lead.
-Robinson led the Jets with 18 points, adding a pair of rebounds and a steal. DeGrate had another solid night of scoring, putting up 17 points — including a 9-of-10 night at the line — and adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Harrison also reached double figures, doing so for the second time this year against the Eagles, pouring in 12 points.
-Cierra Tjaden had another night of filling up the stat sheet, scoring seven points but putting up game-highs with 11 rebounds and six assists. It's the third straight game the junior has dished out at least five assists.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets are done for the week, with their rotation for a one-game weekend coming around for the second time this season. They hit the road for the final time beginning Thursday at Arkansas-Fort Smith.
