Game #19
Northeastern State Riverhawks (5-14, 5-14 MIAA) at Newman Jets (3-15, 3-15 MIAA)
Thursday, Feb. 18 • 5:30 P.M. Wichita, Kan. • Fugate Gymnasium
Series Record: NSU leads series 3-1 Last Meeting: Jan. 9^th, 2020 NSU 60 NU 46 in Tahlequah, Okla.
Internet Audio: Newmanjets.com/listen Internet Video: themiaanetwork.com/newman
Up Next: vs Rogers State • Sat. Feb. 20 • 1:30 P.M. • Wichita, Kan.

LAST TIME OUT
After a back and forth opening to the contest, the Griffons would lead the Jets 9-7 with just under three minutes left in the quarter. Newman would close out the quarter outscoring Missouri Western 13-2 to take a 20-11 lead into the second quarter.  In the second quarter, the Jets would stretch their lead up to as much as ten points on a Madison Birnbaum four point play as she would sink a three point basket and draw the foul. With Newman up 24-14, Missouri Western would score the next ten points to tie the game up 24-24 with six minutes left in the first half. The Jets would answer the Griffons run with a 7-0 to close out the second quarter, taking a 31-24 lead into the intermission.  Both teams would trade baskets to begin the second half with the Griffons cutting the Jets lead down to four points and Newman building it back up to eight points when Haley Albers would knock down a three point basket making the score 39-31 with 7:56 remaining in the quarter. From this point on, the Griffons would take control. Missouri Western would outscore Newman 24-8 to finish out the quarter taking an eleven point lead into the final quarter, 55-44.  The Jets would be unable to mount a comeback in the final quarter as the Griffons would be able to build upon their lead on their way to a 71-54 victory.

THE COACHES
Darin Spence begins his ninth season as the Jets head coach, leading the Jets to a 3-15, 3-15 in the MIAA record so far in the 2020-21 season. Spence has compiled 593 wins as a head women's basketball coach over a 29-year span across NCAA Division I and Division II, NAIA, and NJCAA schools. His eight years with the Jets have seen him amass a record of 120-112 overall and a 8-15 record in MIAA Conference play as well as 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.

Fala Bullock is in her fourth season at the helm for Northeastern State. With eight years of head coaching experience Bullock is 119-133. Before being named the head coach of the Riverhawks, she was the head coach at Armstrong State University.

ABOUT THE JETS
Newman is 3-15 on the season, 3-15 in the MIAA. Newman is led in scoring by Senior Guard Brooke Haney at 10.3 points per game.  Madison Birnbaum leads the Jets in rebounding at 5.8 rebounds per game. 

ABOUT THE RIVERHAWKS
Northeastern State is 5-14 on the season, 5-14 in the MIAA. The Riverhawks are led in scoring by Zaria Collins at 16.1 points per game. Collins also leads the Riverhawks in rebounding at 6.9 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between these two schools with the Riverhawks leading the series 3-1 over Newman.

LAST TIME VS NORTHEASTERN STATE
The Jets would start the game by spotting the Riverhawks ten points before a Haley Albers three point basket would spark a 10-0 Newman run to tie the contest up. Both teams would trade baskets on ensuing possessions before NSU would close out the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take an 18-12 lead into the second period of play. Northeastern State (3-6, 3-6) would keep the lead through most of the second quarter until two Faith Mason-Vestal free throws would tie the game up at 26 with a little over one minute left in the half. The Riverhawks would hit a jumper with 30 seconds left to take a 2 point lead, 28-26 into the intermission.  Newman would come out of the break making shots as they would take their first lead of the contest with 8:05 left in the third quarter. Both teams would trade baskets for the next three minutes until Northeastern State would take the lead back from Newman, along with a six point lead into the fourth quarter. Newman wouldn't be able to get the score any closer than four points in the fourth quarter as the Riverhawks would make six free throws with under thirty seconds to play making the game look worse than it was.

UP NEXT
The Jets will host Rogers State for the final home contest of the season on Saturday, Feb. 20^th with tip-off at 1:30 PM.


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 is 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. You can find all things Newman in the Newman Jets Athletics app available in both the App Store and on Google Play.