WICHITA, Kan.  –  Texas A&M International University women's basketball (0-15, 0-3 Heartland Conference) team dropped a 89-38 Heartland Conference decision on the road Saturday afternoon to the Newman University Jets (12-5, 3-0 Heartland Conference). The loss moves the Dustdevils to 1-5 against the Jets in their last six matchups dating back to the 2015-16 season.  

The Jets got off to a strong start by outscoring the Dustdevils 24-4 in the opening quarter. Newman showed its defensive intensity as they forced 11 TAMIU turnovers in the first stanza and continued to apply pressure throughout the game.

Vanessa Oyola broke the second quarter scoring ice for the Dustdevils by connecting on a shot from long distance to slash their deficit to 17 (24-7) with 8:51 showing on the clock. Newman would ultimately close out the quarter by taking a 10-2 run in a span of 2:12 including three-pointers made by Haley Albers and Makayla Hayes to send a 49-16 game into intermission.

In the final quarter, the Dustdevils tried to mount a comeback and put together a 6-0 scoring run including a three-point play by Christine Ortega that was followed by an Alliyah Bryant shot from downtown 15 seconds later to cut the deficit to 45 (73-28) with 8:04 remaining.

The Jets responded to the run by stretching its lead to 53 points, their largest of the game, with 3:52 remaining before taking the win.  

Ciera Walker was the leading scorer for the Dustdevils for the third consecutive game as she contributed nine points (4-of-9 FG) while grabbing five rebounds. Ortega ended the day with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Jets had four double-digit scorers including Bria DeGrate (5-of-7 FG, 3-of-4 3FG) and Albers (7-of-13 FG) who scored 17 points apiece.  

In the end, Texas A&M International shot 33.3 percent (15-of-45) from the field, 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three-point range and 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from the free-throw line while the Jets shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the floor, 29.7 percent (11-of-37) from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the charity stripe. Newman held the advantage in rebounds (37-32), steals (16-2), assists (20-5) and blocks (1-0). The Dustdevils scored seven second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds.  

The Dustdevils return home for Heartland Conference action on Thursday, January 24 when they host University of Arkansas - Fort Smith (5-12, 2-2 Heartland Conference) at 5:30 p.m.