WICHITA - Women's Basketball;s home opener against East Central to open the Newman Classic was an intense game that went to the final whistle. 

The Jets are hosting the first ever Newman Classic in Fugate this weekend, and the opening game set the tone for the rest of the weekend. 

The Jets had come off three consecutive losses to open the season, and were looking to get their first victory in front of their home crowd. 

The Tigers seemed to be one step ahead of the Jets for the opening moments of the 1st quarter, with Newman getting close to taking a lead but would end up down by a few as the minutes wore on. 

Following a defensive minded quarter from both teams, the Jets would take their first lead of the afternoon following a three from Carissa Beck and a layup from freshman Jaeden McMillin. The Jets would continue to grow their lead by getting to the free throw line often, and would lead by many as eight in the quarter. 

Newman would take a six point lead into the break, with the Jets starting to click on the offensive side of the ball. 

Following more free throws to open the quarter for Newman, the Tigers would wear down their opponent and retake the lead by a point. It would not last long as another three from Beck would hit the mark. 

The rest of the game would ensue in a free for all, as both teams hit big shots and made many fouls the rest of the way. 

The Tigers would break away due to the foul trouble that the Jets had put themselves into. Despite a late pushback, the fouls had caught up to the Jets and would lead to a very close victory for the Tigers, 78-74. 

Beck would return to her good form today with a team leading 16 points and 5 assists. Freshman McMillin played some impressive minutes in her home debut, as she finished with 14 points. 

The Jets will face off against Upper Iowa at 1 PM tomorrow, in a game to decide third place.