WICHITA, Kan. – After wrapping up its final weekend of the regular season, the Newman women's basketball team looks forward to a competitive Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Championship, starting Friday in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 2
Game 1: No. 1 St. Edward's vs. No. 8 Texas A&M International, 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 St. Mary's vs. No. 7 Rogers State, 2:30 p.m.
Friday, March 3
Game 3: No. 3 Lubbock Christian vs. No. 6 Newman, 12:00 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Arkansas-Fort Smith vs. No. 5 Oklahoma Christian, 2:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday, March 4
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 4, 12:00 p.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 2:30 p.m.
Championship
Sunday, March 5
Game 7: Semifinals winners, 12:00 p.m.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (19-9, 9-7 Heartland) finished the last weekend of the regular season inside Fugate Gymnasium by hosting St. Mary's for homecoming and Texas A&M International on Senior Day. Newman took down the Rattlers 73-68, who will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. The Jets then cruised to a 72-46 victory over the Dustdevils on Saturday to complete their regular season schedule.
Leaders
Hannah Alexander-14.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 36 stl, 46.9 FG%, 40.7 3FG%
Bria DeGrate-13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 65 stl, 8 blk, 39.7 FG%, 68.1 FT%
Mali Wright-12.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 21 stl, 11 blk, 48.0 FG%, 68.8 FT%
Natalia Hausmann-7.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 32 stl, 21 blk, 44.2 FG%, 71.0 FT%
Cierra Tjaden-5.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 28 stl, 58.4 FG%, 70.6 FT%
SCOUTING THE FIELD
Newman will begin its tournament by playing a familiar foe in Lubbock Christian (17-10, 12-4 Heartland) Friday afternoon. The Chaparrals are currently on a four-game winning streak heading into the game and finished third in the regular season conference standings. Newman and Lubbock Christian split the regular season series with both teams taking the home victory. The Jets took down the Chaparrals on Jan. 30 inside Fugate Gymnasium in a thrilling 61-60 victory.
The next-highest seed on Newman's side of the bracket is No. 2 St. Mary's (20-6, 12-4 Heartland), which the Jets just beat at home on Thursday. The Rattlers were ranked No. 5 in the South Central Regional rankings last week when Newman beat them and are currently ranked No. 7 in the rankings heading into the tournament.
If St. Mary's happened to get beat, the Jets would face the No. 7 seed in Rogers State (8-19, 3-13 Heartland), which Newman swept in the regular season series. The Hillcats enter the tournament on a current three-game losing streak.
On the other side of the bracket for the Jets is the regular season Heartland Conference champions in St. Edward's (17-8, 13-3 Heartland), who beat Newman twice this season. Arkansas-Fort Smith (16-12, 10-6 Heartland) is the No. 4 seed, Oklahoma Christian (15-13, 10-6 Heartland) is the No. 5 seed and Texas A&M International (2-24, 2-14 Heartland) is the No. 8 seed to complete the other side of the bracket.
Leaders
Tess Bruffey (LCU)-16.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 94 blk, 44.2 FG%, 34.4 3FG%
Bailey Haist (LCU)-9.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 40.5 FG%, 35.8 3FG%
Hannah Harbin (LCU)-8.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 24 stl, 48.2 FG%
Kiara Etheridge (StMU)-15.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 47 stl, 45.4 FG%
Hannah Beede (TAMIU)-12.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 28 stl
Tayla Taylor (UAFS)-12.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 39 stl, 28 blk, 52.0 FG%
McKenzie Stanford (OC)-18.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 31 stl, 39.1 FG%
Shakera Barnes (SEU)-13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.4 apg, 34 stl, 44.0 FG%
Lauren Schuldt (RSU)-8.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 29 blk, 37.3 FG%
NOTES
-Since the loss to Newman back on Jan. 30, Lubbock Christian's Tess Bruffey has averaged 22.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game in the last eight games, including four double-doubles. The Chaps went 7-1 during the eight-game stretch.
-The Jets had three of the top 11 scorers in the Heartland Conference with Hannah Alexander, Bria DeGrate and Mali Wright. Alexander was seventh, DeGrate in ninth and Wright finished at 11th. When it comes to conference games only Alexander and Wright bumped up to fourth and sixth place respectively.
-The Newman defense was stingy throughout the regular season, forcing the most turnovers per game in the conference at 18.9, but finished with the second best turnover margin at 3.75.
COVERAGE
Every game of the Heartland Conference tournament will be live streamed for no charge on the conference website. In addition, each Newman contest will be carried live on KGSO (93.9 FM, 1410 AM) in Wichita, with live stats and an online audio feed available at www.newmanjets.com.
