OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 18, 2019) – Oklahoma Christian basketball coach Stephanie Findley put it succinctly: "Scoring 44 points isn't going to win you any games."

It didn't for the Lady Eagles on Monday. OC outrebounded Newman (Kan.) and held the Jets to 34-percent shooting, but the Lady Eagles shot just 30.4 percent from the field (16.7 percent from 3-point range) and fell 56-44 in a nonconference game in the Eagles' Nest.

Newman (2-2) and OC (0-2) were league rivals from the 2012-13 season, when OC joined the Heartland Conference, until the Heartland dissolved at the end of the 2018-19 academic year. OC moved into the Lone Star Conference, while Newman became an associate member of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Most games between the Jets and Lady Eagles in recent years were tense, taut affairs that went down to the final minute, and it appeared that might be the case again.

When Katie Mayo scored with 5:48 left, OC trailed only 47-44. But after that, OC had four turnovers and missed its last nine shots, allowing the Jets to pull away. Kaitlyn Potter, who went 5 of 14 from 3-point range and scored 22 points, hit a 3-pointer with 5:21 left and Rylee Meloy followed with another at the 4:40 mark. Newman went 3 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:21.

OC junior point guard Maddison Collyer scored 16 points to go with four assists and three steals. Sophomore Kendra Levings tied her career high with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc, but the rest of the Lady Eagles combined to go 0 of 17 from 3-point range. Newman shot 10 of 25 from behind the arc.

"Obviously, we've got to shoot better," Findley said. "At the end, it seemed like we all were pretty hesitant. That's something we've got to find our way through, because this is new for us. (Last season), we would have been looking for Addy (Clift) and she would have been putting it up. This is new territory and we've got to figure it out together."

There were a couple of bright spots for OC. First, after surrendering 90 points in a loss at Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Lady Eagles showed more intensity on defense. Second, they outrebounded the taller Jets 41-35, with 14 of those offensive rebounds. Tyra Peck led OC with nine rebounds.

OC also showed some fight in the first half. After falling behind 9-0 in the first 3:05 and trailing 23-11 at the 9:11 mark of the second quarter, the Lady Eagles reeled off 18 straight points and led 29-23 after Collyer's three-point play at the 1:54 mark. Newman closed the half on an 8-0 run, though, and never trailed after that.

"We'll keep working at it," Findley said. "I was pleased with their effort and we didn't quit. We struggled the whole game to make shots but we didn't quit. We played hard. That's all you can ask. If you keep doing it, something good will happen."

OC will open Lone Star play on Thursday, hosting Texas A&M-Kingsville at 5:30 p.m.