WICHITA, Kan. — Riding an impressive two-game winning streak to end the regular season to prepare for its fifth postseason appearance in the last six years, the Newman women's basketball team gets the Heartland Conference Championship underway with a 2:30 p.m. contest against Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday afternoon.

TOURNAMENT PRIMER

In a first for the Heartland Conference, eight teams will converge on a neutral site — the Union Multipurpose Activity Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma — to determine a league champion. National No. 1 Lubbock Christian earned the top seed in the tournament, but sits across the bracket from the Jets (12-14, 6-12 Heartland), who locked up the seventh seed. That first-round contest against the Lions (20-8, 12-6 Heartland) is the 2-7 matchup, while a win by Newman would set up a semifinal meeting with the winner between Texas A&M International and St. Edward's.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 3

Quarterfinals

Game 1: No. 1 Lubbock Christian vs. No. 8 Texas-Permian Basin, Noon

Game 2: No. 2 Arkansas-Fort Smith vs. No. 7 Newman, 2:30 p.m.

Game 3: No. 3 Texas A&M International vs. No. 6 St. Edward's, 5 p.m.

Game 4: No. 4 Oklahoma Christian vs. No. 5 St. Mary's, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 5

Semifinals

Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 4, Noon

Game 6: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 6

Championship

Game 7: Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets turned in a superb finish to their season last weekend at home, dispatching UTPB and St. Edward's by 30 and 28 points, respectively. The wins not only sent Newman into the postseason on a high note, but were the two largest back-to-back wins by the team in its NCAA history. Shaunice Robinson averaged 21.5 points over the two games and is leading the team in scoring.

LEADERS

                Shaunice Robinson, Senior-13.7 ppg, 2.4 apg, 3.2 rpg, 1.5 spg, 80.9 FT%

                Natalia Hausmann, Junior-7.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg, 12 blocks

                Erica Olerich, Junior-4.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 40.4 FG%

                Bria DeGrate, Freshman-5.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.0 apg

                Cierra Tjaden, Junior-4.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.0 apg, 76.9 FT%

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Lions closed its season with a short week, topping Rogers State 58-46 for their fourth straight victory heading into the postseason. UAFS used a big first half to get past the Hillcats, as Ashley Bean turned in 14 points and Jasmine Brainard added nine points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

                LEADERS

                Jasmine Brainard, Senior-14.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 40.5 FG%

                Ashley Bean, Senior-8.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.2 apg

                Candice Followwell, Senior-7.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.5 spg, 78.7 FT%

                Olivia Hanson, Sophomore-6.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 40.4 3FG%

                Brittany Holbert, Senior-5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 45.2 FG%

HISTORY LESSON

The Jets are making their fifth Heartland Conference tournament appearance of all time, sporting a 2-3 record in their previous four attempts. Their best attempt came to end the 2011-12 season, as Newman picked up a pair of wins to earn the conference championship. The win in the final that year came over UAFS in a close 66-62 contest.

The Lions have the distinction of advancing to the tournament final in each of their appearances in the field, falling to the Jets in 2012 and besting the field to claim the title last season.

Against each other, the Lions lead the overall series 9-7, grabbing wins in both meetings this season, although the Jets went on the road in the second game and trimmed the winning margin in a game that started signaling the improved play they ended the regular season with.

COVERAGE

Live video, audio and statistics for all of Newman's tournament games will be available at www.newmanjets.com.