WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Lady Falcons suffer tough loss
WICHITA, KAN. Alina Voronenko’s layup with nine seconds remaining capped Newman’s 12-1 run to end the game, and the Jets rallied to beat UTPB 69-67 Saturday in a battle for first place in Heartland Conference women’s basketball.
The Lady Falcons (18-7 overall, 8-3 conference), who slipped into third place behind Newman (20-5, 9-2) and Arkansas-Fort Smith (17-7, 9-3), led 66-57 when Briannah Matthews made a basket with 5:54 left. But they missed their final eight field-goal attempts and scored only one point the rest of the way on a free throw by Teisha King.
King finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench. Tammy Acosta led UTPB with 17 points.
Satoria Bell poured in a game-high 32 points for the Jets, finishing 13-of-21 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. Tasha Cannon added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds for Newman, which can secure the regular-season conference title with a win at home Thursday against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
>> Newman 69, UTPB 67
UTPB (18-7 overall, 8-3 Heartland Conference)
Taniqua Ards 4-4 0-0 8, Clarissa Davis 2-2 0-0 4, Tammy Acosta 5-14 5-8 17, Jessi Cowden 1-6 0-0 3, Cashena Mathis 2-6 0-0 5, Giselle Loya 2-2 0-0 5, Teisha King 4-12 3-4 11, Ashley Villareal 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Unger 2-7 0-0 6, Briannah Matthews 4-5 0-0 8. Totals 26-59 8-12 67.
NEWMAN (20-5, 9-2)
Tasha Cannon 4-12 4-4 10, Celeste Key 1-3 0-0 2, Samantha Soyez 0-5 2-2 2, Satoria Bell 13-21 3-3 32, Ellen Traylor 1-1 0-0 2, Anna Sonka 0-1 0-0 0, Kianna Flannagan 4-7 0-0 8, Alina Voronenko 3-4 3-4 9, Ariella McGhee 1-1 0-0 2, Sumayyah Muhammad 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-56 10-13 69.
Halftime — Newman 39, UTPB 38. 3-Point goals — UTPB 7-24 (Acosta 2-6, Cowden 1-6, Mathis 1-2, Loya 1-1, King 0-1, Villareal 0-1, Unger 2-7), Newman 3-11 (Key 0-1, Soyez 0-3, Bell 3-5, Sonka 0-1, Flannagan 0-1). Total fouls — UTPB 14, Newman 12. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Rebounds — UTPB 35 (Mathis 7), Newman 30 (Cannon 8). Assists — UTPB 12 (King 5), Newman 17 (Flannagan 7).
