Games 1 & 2:  Newman (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) vs. Wayne State College (1-2, 0-0 NSIC)
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 2:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network

vs. University of Mary (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Sunday, November 14, 2021 | 2:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
A NEW ERA

The Jets open up a new era with a new coaching staff this weekend and begin the 2021-22 season with two brand new opponents.

LAST TIME OUT

Pittsburg State used a late 12-4 run to build their lead back to nine points with four minutes to play and held on to ground the Jets 69-61 to wrap up the regular season Saturday, February 27, 2021 at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg.  The contest was nip and tuck throughout the 40 minute period as neither team was able to claim a double-digit lead.  The Jets got off the blocks early to take a four-point advantage, but the Gorillas battled back to tie the game at 11 at the end of the first quarter.  The teams struggled to score in the second with both squads shooting under 32% from the field, but the Gorillas hit just enough shots to lead at halftime 24-21.
The lid came off the basket for both teams in the second half as the Jets and Gorillas each shot better than 50% from the field over the final 20 minutes.  The Gorillas tried to put the Jets away early by building a nine-point lead in the first five minutes of the third quarter, but the Jets rallied to cut the deficit to five entering the final stanza.  A Brooke Haney 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter trimmed the lead to two, and a basket by Haley Albers cut the deficit to one less than two minutes into the final period.  The Gorillas responded with a 12-4 run over the next four minutes that put them back up by nine with four minutes to go, and the Jets couldn't cut into the lead after the final media timeout to apply pressure to PSU as the Gorillas swept the season series.  Sophomore guard Amoni White scored a career-high 20 points in defeat.

SCOUTING THE SQUADRON

Newman ended last year's pandemic-abbreviated season 4-18 while playing all 22 games within the Mid-America.  The Jets return six players from a year ago, including two of their top three scorers from that team.  The Jets will suit up two seniors this season, but both are eligible to return for an additional year due to eligibility granted by the NCAA in response to the 2019-20 Coronavirus pandemic.  The Jets welcome six freshmen to the program and they are joined by one redshirt freshman, Elise Kaiser, a Hesston product who missed last season with a preseason knee injury.  Rounding out the NU roster are five juniors and two sophomores.  Transferring to join the new coaching staff are former Towanda High School Thunderbird Carissa Beck (Butler County), Russell High School product Tiffany Dortland (Barton County), Bishop Carroll Golden Eagle multi-sport star and Wichita native Britney Ho (Northeastern State), and former Goddard Lion Torri Vang (Cowley County).

TOP RETURNERS

Faith Mason-Vestal is the Jets' leading returning scorer after tallying 10.2 ppg a season ago.  She is also the top returning rebounder for NU after grabbing 4.7 rpg last season.  Mason-Vestal was also a steady scorer at the free throw line, logging the second-most makes last year while shooting 80% from the line.  She also turned into a defensive presence inside and led the Jet block party last season with a team-high 20 rejections.  Sydney Nilles returns at point guard to orchestrate the Jet offense after leading the Navy & Red with 64 assists last season as a freshman against just 58 turnovers.  She's also one of Newman's top returning defenders, logging the second-most steals for the Jets last year with 22 takeaways.  Makayla Hayes is the leading returning 3-point shooter off last year's squad after connecting 15 times on 63 attempts (24%) last season, though Nilles has the highest returning percentage after drilling 13 of 35 shots to shoot a team-high 37% from the arc last year.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Wayne State College finished with a 6-10 record a season ago while logging a 5-9 mark against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes.  The Wildcats picked up back-to-back wins just once last season and ended the year on a three-game losing streak while dropping five of their last six contests.  Last season ended a streak of 16 straight seasons with a record at or above .500 for the Wildcats.  The last time the Wildcats didn't boast a winning or level record was during the 2003-04 season when WSC struggled to a 13-15 mark under head coach Ryun Williams.  Wayne State finished the year seventh in the South Division of the NSIC.  The Wildcats will have to find new contributors this season as they return just one of their top five scorers and rebounders from a year ago.
Wayne State was defeated 99-46 by Creighton at D. J. Sokol Arena in Omaha November 3, 2021 in exhibition play.  The Bluejays made offense tough for the Wildcats, holding Wayne State to 25.4% shooting from the field, including 4-for-18 shooting outside the arc.  Meanwhile Creighton shot 53.5% from the field on the way to a 28-11 first quarter lead they never relinquished.  Kylie Hammer led WSC with 10 points while Lauren Zacharias chipped in nine.  Hammer also led the way in rebounding for the Wildcats grabbing six boards.
The University of Mary logged a 5-9 record during the 2020-21 season while finishing 5-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The Marauders started the year just 1-5 but went .500 over their final eight games and enter 2021-22 on a two-game winning streak.  The season snapped back-to-back winning seasons for Mary as the Marauders finished fifth in the NSIC's North Division.  The Marauders should be reliant on their experience this season while returning three of their top five scorers from a year ago and four of their top five rebounders from last season.
UMary dropped to 1-2 on the season with a 74-59 defeat against Seton Hill on Sunday in a neutral-site game in Billings, Mont at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic.  UMary led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, but the Seton Hill Griffins won the second frame 22-15 to take a 34-29 halftime lead.  After tying the third period at 21 points apiece, Seton Hill held the Mary offense to just 9 fourth-quarter points to soar to a double-digit victory.  Mary also fell to Kutztown University at the classic while picking up their first win of the season against Nova Southeastern.  The Marauders are wrapping up a brutal road trip in Wichita before heading home to Bismarck, N.D.  Newman will be the third straight true road game for the Marauders and their third game in as many calendar days.  UMary is also making stops at Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday as part of a six-game road trip to begin the year.

THE SERIES

This is the first time that Newman has met either Wayne State or the University of Mary in women's basketball competition.

PREVIOUS MATCHUP

The Jets are playing WSC & UMary for the first time this weekend.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Newman begins a new era in 2021 as the Jets welcome Drew Johnson and Nicole Ohlde-Johnson to Wichita as the new leaders of Jets women's basketball.  The husband and wife team didn't have to travel far to Wichita, moving from just minutes up the road after spending four seasons at Bethel College where Drew was the head coach and Nicole was his associate head coach.  Drew Johnson compiled a 64-53 record in North Newton, while going 51-41 in Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference play.  Under their leadership, the Johnsons helped Bethel to its first ever 20-win season as the Threshers went 20-10 and hosted their first KCAC Tournament game inside Thresher Gym in 8 years.  In their final year at the helm, the Johnson led the Threshers to a 16-10 season while going 16-6 in the KCAC, delivering the program's first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance.
The Johnsons bring with them a wealth of basketball experience both on and off the court.  Ohlde-Johnson, a Clay Center, Kan. native, played collegiately at Kansas State University where she was a two-time first-team All-American and departed as the school's all-time leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker.  Ohlde-Johnson was drafted in the first round of the 2004 WNBA draft and played seven years in the league and helped the Phoenix Mercury win the 2009 WNBA title.  After playing in Europe, Ohlde-Johnson founded the Nicole Ohlde Basketball Academy with Drew serving as a player trainer and coach for the club competing on the AAU circuit.
Prior to becoming the Bethel head coach, Drew Johnson previously served on the high school girls basketball coaching staffs at Valley Center, Derby, and Clay Center High Schools in Kansas.  Johnson is a Wichita native and Friends University graduate.  Johnson was a two-year captain and four-year starter for the Falcons football program and earned All-KCAC honors as a punter.  As part of Ohlde Basketball Academy and Ohlde Elite, the Johnsons coached players that went on to play at all levels of basketball including the Big 12, Big East, Missouri Valley, MIAA, and KCAC.

A 'CAT TAMER & A MARAUDER BOSS

Brent Pollari enters his fourth season at Wayne State College entering the 2021-22 season.  Pollari has coached the Wildcats to a 37-38 record through three seasons and a 25-33 mark inside the NSIC.  Prior to leading the WSC bench, Pollari's career spanned 19 years across high school basketball and all three levels of NCAA.  Prior to his appointment at Wayne State, Pollari was the head coach for 3 seasons at St. Mary's University in Minnesota.  There he led the NCAA Division III program to a 50-29 record and was the 2016 MIAC Coach of the Year.  Previous to that, he tasted the NCAA Tournament twice in two years in stops at NCAA Division II Minnesota State and at Division I North Dakota.  He spent six years as associate head coach at Northern State and helped the Wolves reach one NCAA Division II Tournament during his tenure.  He's also spent time at Texas A&M-Kingsville and Montana State.
Rick Neumann will complete his 10th season at the University of Mary in March.  Neumann sported a 133-117 record entering the year and had gone 98-90 in NSIC play over that span.  Prior to last season, Mary had made the NSIC Tournament each year of Neumann's tenure.  Neumann is the third-winningest coach in program history and had logged at least 10 victories in every season until last year.  A UMary graduate, Neumann joined the women's basketball program as an assistant coach in 2003 under head coach Fred Fridley.  Neumann assisted Fridley to a 170-91 record over nine years and helped the program transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.  Neumann was on the staff when Mary made their last ever NAIA Tournament appearance during the 2004-05 season with a 29-4 record and their first ever NCAA Division II Tournament with a 19-10 record in 2011-12.  As head coach, Neumann has led his teams to the NSIC Quarterfinals three times.

FIRST IMPRESSION

The Jets are 8-6 in the program's Division II history in season-openers and can win their third straight such game with a triumph against the Wildcats.  Last season, Missouri Southern poured it on the Jets early with a 14-3 run to lead 23-10 with 5:33 to play in the first half and led by 10 at the break, but NU held the Lions to just 8-for-28 shooting in the second half, including holding Missouri Southern to just 1-for-11 from the 3-point line to earn a come-from-behind 55-51 win to kick off the season at Fugate Gymnasium.  At Bethel, Drew Johnson was 1-3 in season-openers.

MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH

Newman found themselves on the wrong side of close games last year.  NU played eight games decided by 10 or fewer points a season ago.  After starting the year 2-0 in those contests, the Jets lost their last six.

MADE IN THE MIDWEST

The Jets didn't have to acquire any frequent-flyer miles to arrive on campus.  All 16 Jets hail from the Central Time Zone and represent just three different states.  Nine Jets stayed home in Kansas to play for NU, five made the trip north from Texas, and two came west from Missouri.

BRINGING THEIR 'A' GAME

• Sydney Nilles tied for 10^th in the MIAA averaging 2.9 apg a year ago.
• Nilles was also 10^th in the league in Assist/Turnover Ratio at 1.1
• Madison Birnbaum tied for seventh last year in steals averaging 1.7 per game.
• Newman was one of five MIAA teams to shoot 100% from the free throw line in a game last year, going 3-for-3 at the line in a 71-54 loss at Missouri Western.
• The Jets struggled to slow down Emporia State behind the arc a season ago.  The Lady Hornets stroked in 17 trifectas against the Jets in a 85-65 decision in Wichita, tied for the most three-balls allowed in the conference last year.

NU STATS N' STREAKS

• Newman ranked 14^th in the MIAA in scoring last season at 54 ppg and finished sixth defensively giving up 63.6 ppg.  Wayne State was the eighth best offense in the NSIC a year ago scoring 69.6  ppg but was 15^th defensively allowing 78 ppg.  UMary finished 14^th in scoring in the NSIC last season averaging 62.3 ppg but was seventh defensively allowing just 68.1 ppg.
• The Jets look to end a two-game losing streak by winning their season-opener.
• The Jets are vying for their first winning season since 2018-19 when head coach Darin Spence led the Navy & Red to a 21-10 record while finishing second in the Heartland Conference.
• NU also seeks its first 10+ win season since 2019-20 when NU finished 11-17 while going 6-13 in its first year in the MIAA.
• Newman looks to return to the postseason for the first time since 2019 when NU ended a six-game postseason losing streak with two wins in the final Heartland Conference Tournament.  The Jets lost in the championship game to #25 Lubbock Christian.  The top-seeded Lady Chapparals went on to win the 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship.