WICHITA, Kan. – Kami Bunch and Lindsey Byfield hit key threes in the fourth period to give the Rogers State women's basketball team a 55-50 win at Newman on Thursday at Fugate Gymnasium.
 
With the score tied at 35-35 in the fourth period, Bunch knocked down back-to-back triples to lift RSU to a 41-35 advantage. She started with a right wing three and then hit from the left wing for the six point lead with 5:15 remaining.
 
After one free throw from Rachel Block, NU scored and was fouled. The three-point play made it 42-38 with 4:26 left. The RSU defense held the Jets without a field goal for almost nine minutes before the basket.  
 
Holding a 44-40 lead, Byfield hit a three-pointer, her first points of the game, to put RSU in front, 47-40 with 2:13 left.
 
Bunch drove the lane and hit a runner off the glass for a 49-43 lead with 43 seconds remaining. NU cut the deficit to four with 32 seconds left after a layup for a 49-45 score. Bunch and Kindred combined to go 7-for-8 shooting from the line down the stretch to close out the game 55-50.
 
After a 3-3 start, the Jets went on a 13-2 run to end the first quarter and to start the second quarter to take a 16-5 lead. NU held RSU to without a field goal for almost 11 minutes.  
 
Block hit a jumper at the 5:54 mark of the second to end the drought. RSU scored on its next five possessions to cut the deficit to 20-17. Danielle Carr banked in a three from the right wing to pull RSU to within four at 18-14 with 3:10 left. Gamble scored and was fouled. After she put in the free throw, the Hillcats were down by three, 20-17, with 2:22 left in the half.   
 
Bunch hit a left wing three with three seconds left in the half as RSU trailed 24-20 after the first 20 minutes. In the second quarter, the Hillcats shot 6-for-10 from the field for 60 percent.
 
RSU started the second half on a 6-0 run. Natasha Kindred, who was limited in the first half due to foul trouble, scored two layups to knot the score at 24-24. Gamble gave the Hillcats their first lead of the game with two free throws for a 26-24 score with 7:02 left in the third quarter.
 
NU used a 9-0 spurt to go back up in front by the score of 33-26 after a three-pointer from Brianna Caldwell at the 3:17 mark.
 
A quick 6-0 spurt in less than a minute cut the deficit to one at 33-32. Madison Dearmin put in four of the six points in the run. Two free throws by Lauren Schuldt gave RSU an 8-0 run and a 34-33 advantage. NU took a 35-34 edge after two free throws and held the lead at the end of the third period.
 
Bunch finished with 19 points, one off her career high. She went 3-for-4 shooting from three and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Bunch added a game-high six assists.
 
NU's Robinson totaled a game-high 22 points, going 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
 
RSU (10-5 overall, 5-3 HC) continues its four-game road stretch on Saturday at Oklahoma Christian in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. tipoff at the Eagles' Nest. Listen to all the action live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live