TULSA, Okla. — Facing off against the same opponent in what turned out to be the third gritty battle of the season, the Newman women's basketball team fell to a late charge from Lubbock Christian, dropping a 63-57 game Friday afternoon in the Heartland Conference quarterfinals at the Union Multipurpose Activities Center.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (19-10) had their defense working for long stretches, sticking right in a low-scoring 28-25 contest late in the third quarter, but the Chaps (18-10) netted the final seven points of the period. They made it a 9-0 run a few minutes into the third, building a 37-25 lead that Newman couldn't overcome.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Hannah Alexander got the Jets started with a jumper from the right side one minute in, but LCU answered with a 3-pointer that gave the No. 3 seed the lead that it would hold on to the rest of the way, no matter how large or small it became.
-Another Alexander jumper cut it to a two-point game, as did Natalia Hasumann's free throws at the 4:44 mark of the opening quarter that made it 8-6. Bria DeGrate's bucket with 2:30 left closed it to 12-8, which would be the score after one.
-After a cold-shooting first quarter for both teams, they opened it up in the second, with Hausmann converting on a pair of drives to basket to get it back to a three-point game on back-to-back trips down the court midway through the second.
-The defense picked up again though, as Mali Wright's jumper with 2:37 left made it 21-19. LCU followed with a basket of its own to make it a four-point game, and neither team scored in the final 2:25 before the break.
-The cold streak kept going through the first three minutes of the second half. Newman made it 25-21 on an Alexander jumper, and a pair of free throws by Wright once again made it a one-possession game at the 2:44 mark, but the Chaps followed with their low-scoring but long run over the next 3:43.
-The Jets starting finding their offense late, but LCU responded nearly every time with a bucket of their own or by getting to the free throw line. Wright netted baskets on two straight possessions to cut it to 49-42 with 3:32 to play, and an Iva Krstevska 3-pointer had Newman thinking comeback down five with 94 seconds to go. The Chaps scored the next five points though, and held on at the line to finish the win.
LEADERS
Newman
Points: Hannah Alexander 16. Rebounds: Mali Wright 11. Assists: Cierra Tjaden 4. Steals: Wright, Jazzmen Ortiz, Natalia Hausmann, Bria DeGrate 1. Blocks: Sheanna James, Alexander 1.
Lubbock Christian
Points: Bobbi Chitsey 15. Rebounds: Tess Bruffey 10. Assists: Bruffey 4. Steals: Olivia Robertson 3. Blocks: Bruffey 7.
NOTES
-Seniors Wright, Hausmann and Tjaden played their final game in a Newman uniform. Wright closed her career with a double-double, going for 12 points and 11 rebounds. Hausmann netted 10 points despite playing only 19 minutes due to foul trouble, and Tjaden grabbed seven rebounds to go with her four assists.
-After combining to score just 60 points across the first three quarters, the two teams equaled that in the fourth quarter alone, as the Jets outscored the defending national champions 32-28 in the final frame as they made their comeback attempt.
