Fort Smith, Ark.- Newman Women's Basketball kicked off their season at the MIAA/GAC Challenge hosted by Arkansas- Fort Smith. The Jets faced Southern Arkansas, falling short 86-68.
How it Happened:
- The Muleriders opened with a 5-2 lead before
Alexis Martin's layup cut it to two. After SAU pushed the lead back to four, Martin answered with a three to make it 8-7. She later tied the game at ten with a basket and a free throw. SAU regained a 13-10 lead at the four-minute mark, but two free throws from
Carli Carlson brought Newman within one. The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, and two free throws by
Amaya Perez closed the period with SAU up 17-16. Martin scored eight in the opening frame.
-Newman took its first lead early in the second quarter on a Perez three, going up 19-18. SAU moved back ahead with free throws, but the Jets tied it again at 22 on a
Caitlynn Clark three. A 5-0 SAU run made it 29-23 before Clark stopped the surge. SAU extended the lead to 34-25 with a three and a basket, but Perez hit free throws to halt the momentum. Martin drilled a late three to close the half, with Newman trailing 36-29. Martin led with 11 points at halftime, followed by Perez with six and Clark with five.
- SAU opened the second half with a bucket, but Newman answered quickly as
Valeriya Lioukina scored on the Jets first possession to stay within seven. After an SAU response,
Dani Williams knocked down a three to cut the deficit to six. With just under seven minutes left in the third, the Muleriders stretched the lead to ten.
Monica Redondo scored to bring it back to single digits, but SAU answered again. In the final two minutes, Redondo hit multiple free throws to pull Newman within 57-50, but SAU responded with a 5-0 run to push the margin to 62-50. Clark added her eighth point in the closing seconds to make it 62–53, though SAU scored at the buzzer to take a 64-53 lead into the fourth.
- SAU pushed its lead to 15 in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Newman responded with a five-point burst from Martin-a three and a layup-to cut the deficit to 71-61. Clark added five more points over the next two minutes, but each time the Jets threatened, the Muleriders answered. Newman couldn't close the gap in the final minutes and ultimately came up short. The Jets offense shot a total of 38.2% from the field, with 30% from behind the arc.
Player Notes:
- Martin led the Jets scorers with 16 points, going 3-9 from behind the arc and 6-18 from the field.
- Clark tallied 15 points, shooting 60% from three (3-5) and 75% from the field (6-8).
- Perez led on the boards with nine, while also adding ten points.
The Jets are back tomorrow to face Arkansas Monticello at 4 PM in Fort Smith.
