CLAREMORE, Okla. — Facing a halftime deficit, the Newman women's basketball team charged back to tie things up and force overtime before ultimately falling to Rogers State 63-58 in Heartland Conference action Saturday afternoon.
KEY SEQUENCE
Needing some help from the Hillcats (14-11, 9-8 Heartland) at the free throw line, the Jets (10-14, 4-12 Heartland) got it with 14 seconds left as the hosts missed a pair of freebies to leave it a two-point game. Newman could only manage one point on the other end though, and RSU didn't give them another opportunity, sinking their final four from the charity stripe to ice the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Jets wasted no time getting started, as a Lizzy Harrison three-point play followed by a 3-pointer from the junior guard opened the guests up to a six-point lead just 71 seconds into the game. After the Hillcats got on the board with a 3-pointer of their own 20 seconds later, Newman rattled off another eight.
-That run was started by a stick-back from Shaunice Robinson, and Natalia Hausmann closed it with a 3-pointer. In between, Harrison added another three-point play, and when the stretch was done, the Jets led 14-3 just over three minutes into the game.
-RSU closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run to get back in it, but Robinson opened the scoring in the second by knocking down a free throw to convert the three-point play and make it 21-14 at the 8:06 mark. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Robinson and Bria DeGrate stretched that lead to eight with 5:32 left before the half, but the Hillcats took their first lead of the game with just under two minutes to play.
-Up by four at the half, RSU made it six with the first two points of the third quarter. Robinson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two just moments later, and the senior's two free throws with 5:17 left in the third made it 38-36. It would remain a one-possession game for the next 20 minutes until late in the overtime session.
-Newman tied things up at 41-all on an Erica Olerich 3-pointer with under a minute to go in the third, and went up for the first time since the second quarter when Robinson converted on a three-point play with 9:08 left in regulation.
-There were six ties and four lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, including two ties and a lead change in the final 43 seconds. Robinson hit the clutch free throws with 13 ticks left to tie things at 54-54, and corralled the crucial rebound as the Hillcats missed on a shot to win.
-A Robinson jumper made it 56-55 Newman after a slow start to the extra period, although the Hillcats went back up on the next possession. A Robinson free throw tied it up at 57, but two free throws gave the hosts the lead once again with 39 seconds left, and they would hold on.
NOTES
-There were seven lead changes and 10 ties throughout the contest, with nearly all of them happening in the final 15 minutes. The Jets forced 15 turnovers and scored 24 points off them, holding the Hillcats to just 10 points off miscues.
-Robinson put up a game-high 25 points and three steals, hitting 11-of-12 from the line. It's the fifth time the senior has eclipsed the 20-point mark this season, and the 25 points is a new high.
-Harrison finished with 11 points, with nine coming in the opening minutes. She shot 4-of-8 from the field. Olerich matched Hausmann with a game-high seven rebounds, and added seven points, while Cierra Tjaden put up four points to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets return home for an action-packed homecoming week to close the season, hosting Texas-Permian Basin Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
