By Anthony Navarrete, Staff Writer
Basketball season is officially underway for the Newman Jets and both the men’s and women’s team have already learned hard lessons.
In their season opener against Cameron University, the women came up short but rebounded for their second game with a win over Midwestern State.
In their game against Cameron, the women were down by 20 at one point, but the Lady Jets were able to come back and eventually have a six-point lead. However, this push did not give the Jets the advantage they needed to win the game as they went on to lose by six points.
Head women’s basketball coach Darin Spence said the Jets didn’t start the game as they had hoped but walked away having learned something.
“With our team, just learning how to compete at that consistent level for 40 minutes is what we need to keep working for, so I see us getting better,” he said.
Senior Mel George said while the game was tough, she was proud of how the team was able to bounce back after starting at such a steep difference.
“What we took away from that was that we didn’t give up. We didn’t just let them run over us,” she said.
George said the nerves were gone for the second game and the Jets were able to use that to their benefit. The Jets came out on top with a win of 65-60 against Midwestern State.
Going forward, Coach Spence said, the team still has room to grow going into the rest of the season.
“As long as we’re competitive and we give ourselves a chance, we’re going to learn and get better and get ready for conference play,” he said.
The Lady Jets will be back on the court at 3 p.m. Friday in Wichita Falls, Texas where they face off against Dallas Christian.
The men’s team also did not perform to their liking as they lost their season opening games against Cameron University and Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Head men’s basketball coach R.J Allen said the losses were a learning opportunity for the Jets.
“This was the first time that this new team played together. It was definitely a learning experience for this group. We have a long ways to go before we get to where we want to get to,” he said.
Senior Ben Ayre said that the team is not where they want to be but they are continuing to work through the adversity.
“It was a bit of a wake up call for us. We weren’t really at where we think we were,” he said.
Coach Allen said the Jets will continue to make strides on improving for the season.
“We’re going to have to continue that chemistry and continue to get better offensively and I think once we figure that out, I really like where we could be. For me, defensively you’re never good enough. It’s the whole spectrum basketball wise that we’re going to work on.”
“Our overall goal, it sounds boring, is just to get better every single day.”
The Jets were able to shake off their losing streak with a win against Manhattan Christian 97-51 Wednesday night at home.
The Jets will be on the court at 3 p.m. Saturday in Fugate Gym where they will battle it out against future MIAA competitor Emporia State.
PHOTO: THE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM came out on top with a win of 65-60 against Midwestern State University. Courtesy photo, Tyler Pollard
