ALVA, Okla. — The Newman University women's basketball team came up short 68-52 Tuesday evening (Dec. 4) against Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The Jets fall to 6-4 on the year and suffer their first back-to-back loss of the season.
The Rangers jumped out to an early 10-5 lead at the midway point of the first quarter, leading 10-5 with 3:19 left in the quarter. The Jets got off to a dreadful quarter, shooting just three of 14, while turning the ball over nine different times in the opening frame. Despite a rough start the Jets only trailed 16-7 after the quarter.
Much like the first quarter, offense was hard to come by from the Jets, opening the quarter shooting just one of nine. Senior guard, Bria DeGrate quickly took over in the second quarter for the Jets scoring eight of the Jets ten points to opening the quarter. Forward, Hayley Albers capped a Jets 6-0 run scoring four straight points cutting the Rangers lead down to 25-19 with 2:53 to play in the half. The Jets' offense struggled in the final 2:12 going scoreless, however only trailed 28-21 at the half.
Midway through the third the Jets caught fire from behind the three-point line. DeGrate and Braxyton Stewart drilled back-to-back 3-pointers cutting the Rangers lead down to 35-31 with 4:48 left in the third after a 6-0 run, forcing a Rangers timeout. The Rangers responded back quickly with a 5-0 run extending the lead back out to nine. Dede Johnson recorded the Jets third 3-pointer of the quarter drawing it back down to 40-34 with 2:16 to play in the third. The Jets would cut the lead down to three points, but the Rangers finished the quarter on 5-1 run taking a 46-39 lead to the fourth.
The Rangers opened the quarter on a 6-0 run extending their lead to 52-39 with 8:29 to play. Freshman, Makayla Hayes gave the Jets momentum off the bench, stopping the Rangers run with a 3-0 run of her own cutting the lead back down to ten. The Jets continued to battle, but the comeback fell short falling 68-52 to Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Sophomore, Braxtyn Stewart led the Jets with 14 points while pulling down five rebounds. Bria DeGrate finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds, just two rebounds shy of a double-double.
The Jets will return home Saturday afternoon (Dec. 8) for the first time in 18 days as they host Randall. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium.
