WICHITA - Newman held UAFS to just 34 percent shooting from the field and used a late-fourth quarter rally to beat the Lady Lions 66-59 in Heartland Conference play on Wednesday night at Fugate Gymnasium.
It was the second loss in a row for the Lady Lions (14-8, 7-3), which had won eight in a row prior to losing to No. 2-ranked Lubbock Christian on Saturday. UAFS remains in second place in the conference, but the Lady Lions share the spot with the Jets (15-8, 6-3), which forced a split in the regular-season series.
Newman trailed one point at halftime (28-27) and three points after three quarters (45-42) despite shooting 60 percent in the third quarter (6 of 10). The Jets controlled the final frame, however, shooting 54 percent from the field (7 of 13) and a sizzling 75 percent from 3-point range (3 of 4).
The Jets also made 7-of-9 free throws in the final 10-minute period to thwart any comeback attempt by the Lady Lions. UAFS shot just 32 percent from the field (6 of 19) in the fourth quarter, including a 2-of-5 shooting effort from 3-point range, and were 0-of-2 shooting from the free-throw line.
UAFS made just 23 of 67 shots from the field for the game – the Lady Lions were only 8-of-25 shooting from 3-point range – and made only 5 of 14 shots from the free-throw line. Junior guard Lundon Williams led UAFS with 20 points, while senior forward Tayla Taylor had 13 points.
Taylor and sophomore guard Alexis Brown each had eight rebounds, helping the Lady Lions out-rebound the Jets by four rebounds. UAFS collected 17 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second-chance points.
It was the second win in a row for the Jets, who have won four of their past five games.
Newman shot 48 percent from the field (20 of 42) – the Jets were 7-of-18 shooting from 3-point range – and shot 76 percent from the free-throw line (19 of 25). Senior guard Hannah Alexander scored a team-high 24 points, while junior forward Mel George had 11 points.
Senior forward Erica Olerich led Newman with nine rebounds.
UAFS will take a brief break from conference play on Saturday when the Lady Lions host the John Brown Lady Golden Eagles in a nonconference game at the Stubblefield Center. It will be the first of three final regular-season home games for the Lady Lions.
WOMEN
NEWMAN 66, UAFS 59
UAFS 11 17 17 14 — 59
Newman 15 12 15 24 — 66
UAFS (14-8, 7-3): Williams 20, Taylor 13, A. Brown 8, Lehne 8, Haynes 6, Gulley 2, D. Brown 2
Newman (15-8, 6-3): Alexander 24, George 11, Albers 9, DeGrate 9, Roberts 5, Johnson 4, Krstevska 4
