TULSA, Okla. — A big run by Oklahoma Christian gave it a substantial lead at halftime, and the Newman women's basketball just couldn't quite answer despite a second-half charge, falling 83-72 Friday afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Heartland Conference Women's Basketball Championships.

KEY SEQUENCE

There was never a concentrated burst by the fifth-seeded Eagles (10-17), but instead, OC couldn't miss in the second quarter. The fourth-seeded Jets (17-12) never gave up more than a 6-0 run, but the Eagles shot 11-of-16 from the floor in the frame. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Addy Clift and Tyra Peck in the final 90 seconds of the half were a particularly tough pill to swallow, extending the lead to 45-27.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Hannah Alexander and Erica Olerich each chipped in a bucket early to get it to a 5-4 OC lead. Haley Albers scored the next points of the game two minutes later, giving the Jets their only lead of the game at 6-5 with 6:20 left in the first quarter. Three straight baskets followed for OC though, who scored 11 of the next 14 points to retake the lead.

-Layups from Olerich and Dede Johnson cut the lead back down to two at 18-16 by the end of the first, and the second quarter started slowly. The Eagles shot out to a seven-point lead though, going on a 6-1 run in the first three minutes, and opening that to double digits with five straight points from Clift a minute later.

-Johnson started the second half with five points in the first 36 seconds, starting a trend of the Jets trying to start a comeback and OC answering to hold their lead. The Eagles socred the next six points, but Johnson hit another 3-pointer between buckets from Abbey George and Albers to net the Jets seven straight points and make it 51-39.

-For the rest of the third and early into the fourth, the lead hung between 14 and 17 points. Newman cut it to 11 with a 6-0 run, and took one last punch with less than four minutes to go, when they went on a 7-0 spurt to slice it an eight-point game at 76-68. They would get it back to eight twice more, but couldn't get any closer.

NOTES

-Johnson had one of the best games of her career, going for 16 points, and a career-high seven points to go with two rebounds and two steals.

-Alexander led the Jets in scoring once again, netting 19 on 6-of-13 shooting in her final game in a Newman uniform.