Game #20

Newman Jets (9-10, 4-6) at Washburn Ichabods (9-8, 3-5 MIAA)
Saturday, Jan. 25th • 1:00 P.M. Topeka, Kan. • Lee Arena
Series Record: Series tied 2-2 Last Meeting: Nov. 27, 2018 NU 50, vs WU 46 in Topeka, Kan.
Internet Audio: Newmanjets.com/listen Internet Video: themiaanetwork.com/newman
Up Next: Northwest Missouri State • Thursday, Jan. 30 • 5:30 P.M. • Wichita, Kan.

LAST TIME OUT

Newman would fall behind early in the game as Emporia State (13-4, 6-2) would go 6-9 from three in the first quarter to take a 29-16 lead after one quarter of play.  Emporia State would start the second quarter on a 6-0 run with two 3 point baskets to gain their largest lead of the half at 19 points.  In the third quarter, Newman was able to cut the deficit to 13 points with 6:40 left in the quarter thanks to a basket by Bailey Hawkins.  Every time Newman would go on a run to get back in the game Emporia State would answer with a three point basket.  Emporia State would be able to hold in the fourth and beat the Jets 93-64.

THE COACHES
Darin Spence is in his eighth season as the Jets head coach, leading the Jets to a 9-10 record so far in the 2019-20 season. Spence has compiled a 569-311 record as a head women's basketball coach over a 28-year span across NCAA Division I and Division II, NAIA, and NJCAA schools. His seven years with the Jets have seen him amass a record of 113-96 overall and a 59-53 mark in Heartland Conference play. Under Spence's tenure, the Jets reached the Heartland Conference tournament in six of his seven seasons. Before coming to Newman, Spence spent one season at Barton Community College and eight seasons at Division I New Mexico State.

Ron McHenry is in his 20th season at Washburn in 2019-20 looking to continue to build on his impressive resume and return the Ichabods to the top of the MIAA and region.  McHenry, a national champion in 2004-05, has gone 446-140 (.761) in his first 19 years, all at Washburn since 2000-01. He's 261-98 (.726) in his career in MIAA games and 225-53 (.809) coaching in Lee Arena.  McHenry has won eight MIAA titles and seven MIAA tournament titles at Washburn. He's a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year and a two-time region coach of the year.

ABOUT THE JETS
Newman is 9-10 on the season, 4-6 in their first season in the MIAA. Newman has one player averaging double digits this season, Kaitlyn Potter at 17.2 points per game.  Abbey George leads the Jets in rebounding at 4.6 rebounds per game. 

ABOUT THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 9-8 on the season, 3-5 in the MIAA. The Ichabods are led by Junior guard Hunter Bentley at 12.9 points per game.  Bentley also leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 per game.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fifth meeting between these schools with the series tied 2-2 with the latest matchup being Nov. 27, 2018 in Topeka, Kan. Where the Jets knocked off Washburn 50-46.

LAST TIME VS WASHBURN
After a frigid shooting first half, the Newman University women's basketball team caught fire behind the 3-point line in the second half, riding to a come from behind 50-46 victory over the Washburn Ichabods Tuesday night (Nov. 27) inside Lee Arena. The Jets extend their win streak to three straight games and improve to 6-2 on the year.  The Jets' got off to a dreadful start falling behind 9-0 before sophomore guard Rylee Meloy put the Jets on the board with 7:15 left in the first quarter. The Jets' offense settled down quickly answering back with a 9-2 run cutting the Ichabods lead down to 11-9 midway through the quarter. The offensive woes quickly came back as the Jets ended the first quarter scoreless for the final 5:02, trailing Washburn 15-9 after one.  Early in the second, Kaitlyn Potter ended the Jets 5:19 scoring drought with one of her two second quarter 3-pointers. The Newman offense went frigged late in the quarter going scoreless for the final 3:08. The Ichabods took a 26-19 lead into the locker rooms, closing the quarter on a 5-0 run.  Midway through the third quarter Kaitlyn Potter continued to thread the needle swinging the momentum to the Jets. Potter drilled two more 3-pointers cutting the Ichabods lead to 30-27 with 4:22 to play. Bria DeGrate gave the Jets their first lead of the game with 2:54 to play in the third after sinking four straight free throws. Newman continued to stay hot from behind the 3-point line, as Haley Albers sank the Jets third 3-pointer of the quarter. Potter continued to be the offensive hero hitting a layup in the final seconds extending the largest lead for the Jets at 37-30. Newman closed the quarter on a 13-0 run, outscoring Washburn 18-4 in the third.  DeGrate extended the Jets run to 15-0 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, however Washburn stormed back with a 6-0 run of their own after back-to-back Jets turnovers cutting the lead down to 39-36. The Jets continued to stay red hot from behind the 3-point line with huge treys from Albers and DeGrate giving the Jets room to breathe down the stretch. The Jets were able to hold off a late 6-0 Ichabods run, grabbing the 50-46 victory.  Kaitlyn Potter and Bria DeGrate were the lone Jets to finish in double-digit scoring. Potter led the way for the Jets with 14 points on 4 of 10 shooting from behind the 3-point line, while DeGrate ended up with 13 points, dishing out four assists.

UP NEXT
The Jets will return home to take on Northwest Missouri State for another MIAA conference matchup on Thursday, Jan. 30th, 2020 starting at 5:30 P.M.

LISTEN, WATCH & FOLLOW LIVE
Video streams for all of Newman's regular season contests are available on a pay per view basis on the MIAA Network. Events are available live and are immediately archived for on-demand viewing at the conclusion of the event at www.themiaanetwork.com/newman and on the MIAA Network apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. Listen along to all of the Newman Jets games on The Jets Audio Network with Blake Cripps on the call at newmanjets.com/listen. You can now find all things Newman in the Newman Jets Athletics app available in both the App Store and on Google Play. For all of your Newman Jets Athletics apparel needs visit nujetsgear.com!