CLAREMORE, Okla.- Women's Basketball kicked off 2025 with a road trip to Rogers State. Against the Hillcats, the Jets fell short in a four-quarter battle, 51-39. 

How it Happened: 
- The Jets were first to the board with a free throw made by Jaeden McMillin. On the next possession, the Hillcats connected with their first bucket of the night. Valeriya Lioukina added her first points of the night in response to the Hillcats bucket. After Lioukina's basket, the Hillcats went on a 10-0 run to take their lead to 12-3. McMillin finally ended the Hillcats with a three to cut the deficit to six points with just under two minutes to play. The Hillcats defense continued to affect the Jets offense, but  Layla Pierce added one more basket for the Jets before the end of the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, Newman trailed 16-8. The Hillcats shot 50% from the field in the quarter, while their defense forced the Jets into six turnovers. 
- Out of the quarter break, Pierce connected with a driving layup to cut the deficit to six points. Pierce then scored the Jets next points off a steal by Monica Redondo, hitting from behind the arc to cut the game to 16-13 still in favor of the Hillcats. After the bucket by Pierce, neither team was able to score for three minutes, until the Hillcats connected with a basket to push their lead to five with just under six minutes left to play in the half. Paige Craft ended the Jets offensive drought with a layup and her first points of the game. McMillin found Saige Grampsas behind the arc for a three to cut the game to just one point with 3:22 left to play. The Hillcats then answered with a three-pointer of their own. McMillin then scored on the next possession with her sixth point of the contest. The Hillcats were able to connect on their end to keep their lead at three. Rogers State then went on a small run to extend their lead out to six with 33 seconds left. Redondo was able to connect with a jumper to end the half for the Jets and close the gap to just four points at 26-22 heading into the break. In the first half, the Hillcats were able to hold the Jets to 37.5% from the field. Pierce led the Jets with seven points in the first 20 minutes of play. 
- The Jets were first to score out of the halftime break with Redondo connecting with one of two at the line. The Jets continued to battle with the Hillcats throughout the third quarter. Delainey Wylie brought the offense to life with back-to-back three-pointers to close the game to 33-31, in favor of the Hillcats, with 2:45 left in the quarter. The Hillcats hit their first three of the game as time expired in the quarter to head into the break with the 36-31 lead. 
- Rogers State extended their lead after their first possession of the final quarter. A few possessions later, the Hillcats were able to tack on more points to take their lead to nine with under eight minutes to play. The Hillcats defense continued to give the Jets offense trouble, forcing the Jets into a few early turnovers. Off of a Jets turnover, the Hillcats connected with a three that took their lead to 43-31, the largest lead of the game, with seven minutes left. Off of an offensive rebound, Grampsas put the offensive board back up for two points to stop the Hillcats run. On the next Jets offensive possession, McMillin connected with her eighth point of the night to cut the deficit to eight heading into the final media timeout. McMillin then hit another jumper for the Jets to cut it to six, but RSU was able to answer with a bucket of their own to take it back to an eight-point deficit. With 2:48 the Hillcats put the game back at a double-digit deficit which forced the Jets to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, Pierce connected with a jumper to cut the deficit back to just eight. The Jets last push wasn't enough to overcome this deficit. The Hillcats took the contest, 51-39.  

Player Notes:
- McMillin led the Jets with ten points, going 4-10 from the field.
- Pierce scored nine points, 4-9 from the field. 
- Grampsas added five points with nine rebounds. 

The Jets are back on Saturday against Central Oklahoma at 1:30 PM.