WICHITA, Kan. — With a lively atmosphere to kickstart homecoming weekend, the Newman women's basketball team rolled through an early deficit to storm past Texas-Permian Basin in a 61-31 victory in Heartland Conference play Thursday evening at Fugate Gymnasium.

KEY SEQUENCE

Trailing by one after a cold first quarter, the Jets (11-14, 5-12 Heartland) opened up the throttle to start the second period, netting the first 10 points to turn the deficit into a nine-point lead at 17-8. They would lead the Falcons (6-21, 2-15 Heartland) by 12 by the end of the first half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-UTPB scored the first four points of the game before Lizzy Harrison sank the first basket for the Jets with just over four minutes off the clock. A layup from Melanie George and a jumper from Harrison kept the hosts trailing by just one after the opening 10 minutes of play.

-A Natalia Hausmann layup just eight seconds into the second quarter gave Newman the lead for good and started a long run to a big lead. Erica Olerich added a layup and Shaunice Robinson went for six straight points, capped by a steal and a bucket on the other end, to make it 17-9 with 3:51 left before half.

-As quickly as the Jets took the lead to start the second quarter, they took control of the momentum in the third. Robinson sank four straight free throws after a double-technical foul to stretch the lead to 27-11 just 51 seconds in, and five minutes later, a Hausmann 3-pointer pushed the lead to 20.

-Free throws from Olerich and a 3-pointer from Robinson made it a 41-19 game with 1:29 left in the third, and a layup from Robinson in the final seconds of the stanza pushed the lead to 22 once again at 45-23.

-The Jets led by at least 20 the rest of the way, going on a 7-0 run over a two-minute stretch that bumped the advantage up to 30 on a pair of free throws from George. Including those freebies, Newman went 7-of-8 from the line in the final three minutes to help maintain the lead as the clock wound down.

NOTES

-Robinson led all scorers with 25 points, going 7-of-14 from the field and 9-of-12 from the line to go with five rebounds and three assists. It was the senior's second straight game with 25 points, and the third time in the last four games that she's led the Jets in scoring.

-Olerich netted a solid nine points, but pulled in an impressive 16 rebounds to nearly set a new season high. The junior leads the Jets in rebounding with 146 total (6.6 per game), and has hit double digits in four games, including another monster game earlier this season against St. Mary's, when she hauled in 17.

-Hausmann added 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, pouring in nine points after halftime and pulling in six rebounds. All 10 Jets who saw the court grabbed at least two boards, as the hosts enjoyed a huge 58-34 advantage on the glass.

-Part of the lopsided margin was that Newman held the Falcons to just 17.2-percent shooting from the field (10-of-58), including 2-of-30 from 3-point range. The Jets have not held an opponent to that low of a shooting percentage in the Division II era.

-With the win, the Jets locked up an eighth-place finish in the Heartland Conference, and the seventh seed in the upcoming league tournament.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets compete in their final home game of the season Saturday, with the Senior Day game beginning at 1 p.m.