Game 13:  Newman (2-10, 0-6 MIAA) @ Central Oklahoma (7-5, 3-3 MIAA)
Monday, January 3, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. | Edmond, Okla. (Hamilton Field House)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
BACK TO WORK
The Jet women return to the court in Edmond, Oklahoma to begin 2022.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Fort Hays State jumped out to an early lead and didn't take their foot off the pedal until the fourth quarter and breezed to a 90-44 win over the Jets in NU's last game of the calendar year.  The Tigers left no doubt when they outscored Newman 25-4 in the third quarter.  Britney Ho led the Jets with nine points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
SCOUTING THE SQUADRON
Newman ended last year's pandemic-abbreviated season 4-18 while playing all 22 games within the MIAA.  The Jets return six players from a year ago, including two of their top three scorers from that team.  NU will suit up two seniors this season while welcoming six freshmen to the program.  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 Circle 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 to shoot a team-high 37% from the arc last year.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Central Oklahoma enters the new year tied for eighth in the MIAA standings and, like the Jets, lost both games they played against nationally ranked foes to close out 2021.  Central Oklahoma finished 14-9 last season after going 14-8 in MIAA play.  The Bronchos' season ended in an 82-80 defeat at Emporia State in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.  UCO has shown remarkable consistency in recent seasons and has notched eight-straight winning campaigns and postseason appearances.  Central is looking for its sixth NCAA Tournament berth and first since 2017.
 
THE SERIES
UCO leads the series 5-0 and is 3-0 against the Jets in Edmond.  The Bronchos have won all four games the teams have played as MIAA members.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
After a nip-and-tuck first half that saw the Bronchos emerge with a two-point lead at halftime, the Jet offense sputtered in the second half and the Bronze & Blue pulled away for a 76-56 win February 13, 2021 in Edmond.  The Bronchos shot just under 50% from the field in the second half while the Navy & Red hit just 4 of 20 shots in the fourth quarter and shot just 31.6% for the game.  Brooke Haney led the Jets with 15 points in defeat.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
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 staff 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.
 
BUCKING WITH THE BRONCHOS
Guy Hardaker is in his 16^th season in Edmond and started the season with a career record of 281-158 with every season coming on the Broncho bench.  Through his first nine seasons in the MIAA, Hardaker has amassed a 90-85 record in league play.  During Central's time in the Lone Star Conference, Hardaker led the Bronchos to a top-two finish in the Lone Star's North Division in each of UCO's final five seasons in the league.  Hardaker has led the Bronze & Blue to all seven of the program's 20-win seasons and all five of their NCAA Tournament appearances including two trips to the Sweet 16.  Hardaker was previously a successful high school boys basketball coach at Edmond Memorial & Santa Fe High Schools.
 
LET'S BEEF UP SECURITY
Newman took a step in the right direction with their turnover numbers in their last game against #5 Fort Hays State.  After turning it over at least 18 times in each of their previous five games, NU gave it away just 15 times against the Tigers, the lowest total for the Jets since they committed a season-low eight turnovers in a 91-23 romp over Manhattan Christian College.
 
HEY, NO FREEBIES
The Jets will try to be a bit stingier with the free throws they allow against UCO.  Fort Hays State nailed 20 of 22 charity shots in their win over the Jets.  NU hadn't allowed more than eight free throw attempts in their previous 3 games and had held teams to nine or fewer free throws in four straight before their loss at the Tigers.
 
THERE IN SPIRIT
Coach Nicole Ohlde-Johnson will not be making the road trip to Edmond due to her pregnancy.  You can bet that she'll be watching and listening with great interest from Wichita!  The Newman community is excited to welcome the newest Jet into the fleet later this year!
 
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.
 
SOMEBODY USE SPELL CHECK
Despite the preference of modern American English for 'bronco,' Central Oklahoma uses the antiquated spelling of 'broncho' for its athletic teams.  According to school tradition, UCO's head coach in 1922 had created a Letterman's Club and needed a new mascot for Central's teams.  The wife of the new coach chose 'Broncho' as that was the common spelling of the word at the time.  Mrs. Wantland was offered honorary membership into the club and the rest, as they say, is history.  Despite the 'h' the pronunciation of the words is identical.
 
BRINGING THEIR 'A' GAME

• At the start of the second semester, senior Forward Faith Mason-Vestal was fourth in the MIAA in blocks per game.
• Junior transfer Tiffany Dortland was sixth in 3-pointers attempted and eighth in trifectas made to start the second semester.  She was also eighth in the league in field goals attempted to begin 2022.

 
NU STATS N' STREAKS

• At the end of the first semester, the Jets averaged 59 ppg, 13^th in the MIAA.  The Jets were tied for 10^th defensively giving up 68 ppg.
• The Jets look to end their six-game losing streak and eight-game losing slide in conference play with a victory in Edmond.
• Junior forward Britney Ho has shot over 50% from the field in five-straight games.
• Senior forward Faith Mason-Vestal has registered a block in five-straight contests.
• The 46-point defeat for the Jets in their 90-44 loss at #5 Fort Hays State was the Jets' biggest defeat in NU's NCAA Division II era.  It was Newman's first loss of at least 40 points since falling 87-42 at #5 Lubbock Christian January 7, 2016.
• Sophomore point guard Sydney Nilles matched a career-high of three steals for the fourth time against Washburn.  Senior forward Faith Mason-Vestal also matched her career-high of three takeaways in the same game, the first time she'd done that since her freshman year.
• Britney Ho scored a career-high 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the Jets' home defeat to Emporia State.
• Sydney Nilles tallied a career-high 8 assists in NU's loss to the Lady Hornets in Wichita.
• Junior guard Amoni White set back-to-back season highs after scoring eight points at Pittsburg State and then erupting for 15 points against Missouri Southern.  In that same game against Southern, White matched a season-high with four assists.
• Junior guard Tiffany Dortland matched her career-high of nine rebounds at Missouri Southern.
• The 68-point victory for the Jets in their 91-23 blowout over Manhattan Christian updated several superlatives for the Jets.  The 68-point margin is the second-biggest win for the Navy & Red behind only NU's 69-point win over the Central College of the Bible in an 87-18 triumph November 14, 2016.  It was the first time the Jets had a win of at least 50 points since beating Randall by 57 in an 80-23 win December 14, 2019.  It was the first time NU scored at least 90 points game since NU had defeated Randall 96-37 January 7, 2019.  The also Jets forced 25 Thunder turnovers in the game, the first time the Jets had turned over a team at least 25 times since forcing 26 turnovers in a win against Lincoln January 4, 2020.
• Redshirt freshman Elise Kaiser scored a career-high 15 points in NU's victory over Manhattan Christian.  It was her first career double-figure scoring game.
• Junior guard Amoni White nabbed a career-high seven steals in NU's win over MCC.  It was the first time the Jets had a player tally at least five steals since Abbey George grabbed five steals in NU's senior day win against Arkansas-Fort Smith March 2, 2019.  The mark was one shy of the NU single-game record of eight in the Division II era set by Kesha Buckner January 8, 2015 when NU defeated Lubbock Christian in Heartland Conference play.
• Freshman center Laura Bello collected her first career double-double by grabbing a career high 11 rebounds to go along with 10 points in a Jet victory over Cottey College.
• Junior guard Tiffany Dortland matched a career high with five assists in NU's Cottey College victory.  She also registered a personal best of two blocks against the Comets.
• Bello also erupted for a career-high 19 points in just 11 minutes in the Jets' loss to Cameron.
• Transfer guard Tiffany Dortland set a program record for most points in their Newman Jets debut when she scored 27 in the season-opener against Wayne State College.  The record was previously held by Satoria Bell, who tallied 22 points in her NU debut on November 11, 2011 in a 65-58 win against Emporia State.  It was also the second-most points scored in a home or season-opening game behind only Alexandra Ciabattoni's 30-point outburst to open the 2013-14 campaign in a 66-64 victory against Rockhurst on November 9, 2013.  Ciabattoni went on to receive First Team All-Heartland Conference honors and was named the 2014 Heartland Conference Player of the Year.
• 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 Heartland Conference Tournament.  The Jets lost in the championship game to #25 Lubbock Christian.  The top-seeded Lady Chaparrals went on to win the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship.

 
YOU'RE NEXT!
Newman returns home later in the week to host Rogers State and Northeastern State on Thursday and Saturday.
 
MIAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1:  Katie Wagner – Fort Hays State
Week 2:  Kelsey Johnson – Central Oklahoma
Week 3:  Kelsey Johnson (2) – Central Oklahoma (2)
Week 4:  Shiloh McCool – Nebraska-Kearney
Week 5:  Shiloh McCool (2) – Nebraska-Kearney (2)
Week 6:  Nija Collier – Central Missouri