CLAREMORE, Okla. — Rolling through the first half then putting things away with a big start to the third quarter, the Newman women's basketball team opened its 2017-18 season with a resounding 81-45 victory over New Mexico Highlands at the Heartland/RMAC Conference Challenge Friday afternoon at Rogers State.

KEY SEQUENCE

The Jets (1-0) already held a comfortable lead at the break thanks to a big first half, but they shut down any hope of a comeback for the Cowgirls (0-1) with an explosive start to the second half. Newman shot 4-of-6 from the field in the first three minutes of the third quarter and forced four turnovers as it turned a nice 40-17 lead into a commanding 52-17 advantage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Hannah Alexander and Abbey George each netted buckets to boost the Jets to an 8-0 lead four minutes in. That lead ballooned to 16-2 after Bria DeGrate nailed a 3-pointer and Alexander laid in a feed from Erica Olerich with 1:15 left to play in the opening period. Highlands, which didn't make a shot from the field in the first quarter, closed the quarter with three straight free throws.

-The Cowgirls managed to slip the deficit back inside 10 thanks to a 5-0 run to make it 18-10, but Mel George answered on the next possession to push it back to double digits. George converted a stick-back at the midway point of the quarter to make it 24-13, and the Jets led by double figures the rest of the way. The redshirt freshman turned in a seven-point run by herself beginning with that basket, while Alexander netted a pair of buckets around a DeGrate layup in the final minute to make it a 23-point game at the break.

-Highlands didn't net a field goal after halftime until the 1:50 mark of the third, when a 3-pointer cut the lead to 59-21. Iva Krsevska's putback of her own miss pushed it right back to 40 points. The Cowgirls started to find a bit of an offensive rhythm with mostly reserves in the game in the fourth quarter outscoring the Jets 24-20.

NOTES

-The Jets open the season with a nonconference win after closing last year winning ten straight.

-The Jets were able to cause 29 turnovers in the win Friday.

-The Jets were also able to work on the rebounding side gaining 26 second chance points in the game.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets will be back on the road when they take on Western New Mexico Saturday Nov. 11 at 4 PM.