Games 17, 18, & 19: 
Newman (2-14, 0-10 MIAA) vs. Rogers State (5-11, 1-9 MIAA)
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 | 6:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
vs. #22 Missouri Western (12-3, 6-3 MIAA)
Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
vs. Northwest Missouri (11-4, 6-3 MIAA)
Saturday, January 22, 2022 | 1:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
SO MUCH FOR A THREE-DAY WEEKEND
Newman women's basketball is back in Wichita for a three-game homestand this week.  This is the second reschedule of the game between the Jets and the Hillcats that was originally on the calendar for January 6 and was postponed twice due to Coronavirus protocols in the Rogers State program.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Jet defense held Central Missouri 12 points below their conference scoring average but shot just 24% from the field in the second half in a 55-40 loss to the Jennies in Warrensburg January 15.  Both offenses were sluggish as defenses dominated, but UCM used six free throws in the first quarter and six first-half threes to take a 36-26 lead to the break over the Jets.  Both teams went in the icebox in the second half as the Jennies outscored the Jets 19-14 over the final 20 minutes of the game.  Britney Ho and Tiffany Dortland led NU with 8 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Newman fell in a heartbreaker earlier in the week when Lincoln scored the game-winner with one second left to give the Blue Tigers their first MIAA win in a 51-50 thriller in Jefferson City.
 
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 is suiting up one senior 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
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.  Nilles is NU's leading returning scorer after averaging 6.2 ppg last season.  Nilles is also the Navy & Red's leading returning rebounder after grabbing 2.5 rpg a season ago.  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
RSU enters the week in 13^th place in the MIAA standings.  Rogers State took a step in the right direction last year finishing 6-16 with all 22 games coming in MIAA action.  It was a two-win improvement over the previous season as the Hillcats look to notch their first winning year since a 14-12 finish in 2015-16.  The Hillcats haven't finished with a winning conference record since going 12-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2012-13 in the program's last season as an NAIA member.  RSU capped their time in the NAIA with five consecutive winning seasons, the last four of which were 20-win campaigns.  Since joining NCAA Division II in 2013, the Hillcats have managed just one winning season in eight tries and have suffered back-to-back losing seasons since joining the MIAA.  The Hillcats are looking for their first national postseason tournament appearance since going 1-1 in the 2013 NAIA Tournament.  The Hillcats haven't tasted postseason play since a first-round loss to No. 5 seed St. Edwards in the final Heartland Conference Tournament in 2019.  RSU is seeking its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
The Griffons are playing well in 2022 and enter the week tied for 5^th place in the league standings.  Missouri Western is looking to bounce back to contention after a disappointing 2020-21.  Following a 21-8 season in 2019-20, the Griffons finished 6-16 last season with all 22 games coming inside 'The Association.'  The Giffons have posted losing seasons in three of the last four years.  The Griffons had finished above .500 in four of the previous five seasons from 2012-2017 including back-to-back 20-win seasons to end the run.  Missouri Western last finished atop the MIAA in 2016 following a 27-4 campaign that set a program record for MIAA wins with a sparking 20-2 record inside 'The Association.'  The Griffons are seeking their 13^th NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2022.
 
The Bearcats are in the middle of a big turnaround in 2022 and started the week tied with Missouri Western in the conference standings.  Northwest has suffered eight-straight losing seasons since a 15-13 record in 2012-13.  The Bearcats finished 7-15 a season ago with all 22 games being contested inside 'The Association.'  Bearcat women's basketball reached its high mark of the millennium with a 29-5 record in 2010-11 that saw the Bearcats win both the regular season and tournament titles in the MIAA.  The Bearcats made it all the way to the Final Four before falling to Michigan Tech.  Northwest Missouri has been unable to recapture that same success since.  Since the Final Four bid, the Bearcats have finished under .500 in nine of the last ten seasons.  Northwest has already secured its first 10-win season since 2019-20 and is looking for its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since the 2011 Final Four run.  A postseason appearance would be the first for the program since 2020 which marked Northwest's return to March basketball for the first time since 2017.
 
THE SERIES
Newman leads Rogers State 12-4 in the all-time series.  The Jets have taken 4 of 5 and eight of the last 10 from the Hillcats including five wins in a row at Fugate Gymnasium.  NU leads 3-1 in the MIAA era of the rivalry and went 9-3 against the 'Cats in the Heartland Conference.
 
Missouri Western leads the series 5-0.  The Griffons lead 2-0 as MIAA rivals and are 2-0 against the Jets in Wichita.
 
Northwest Missouri leads Newman 2-0 with both games taking place in MIAA play.  The Bearcats won the teams' only meeting in Wichita in 2020.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
The Jets built a 17-5 lead in the first quarter, blew the lead in the fourth, then put the game away on a 21-6 run late to knock off Rogers State 60-47 in Wichita February 20, 2021 to celebrate Senior Day and split the season series.  RSU battled back in the middle two quarters and held NU to just 2 of 16 shooting in the third, but the Jets' laid the hammer down when it mattered and hit 13 of 15 free throws in the final frame to ice the victory.  Brooke Haney paced the Jets with 13 points while Bailey Hawkins fell one rebound shy of tying the school record of 17 boards.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Newman started hot but Missouri Western dominated the third quarter on the way to a 71-54 victory over the Jets in St. Joseph February 16, 2021 to win the only meeting between the teams last year.  Following a competitive start to the game, NU ended the first quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 20-11 advantage to the second.  NU would stretch the lead to 10 before the Griffons scored 10-straight points to tie the game at 24.  The Navy & Red answered back by scoring the last 7 points of the half to lead 31-24 at the intermission.  After taking a 39-31 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the third, the Griffons made the game's decisive run with a 24-8 spurt to end the quarter leading 55-44 going to the fourth.  The Jets were outscored 31-13 in the third and Newman was never closer than 11 in the final 10 minutes. 
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Northwest Missouri used a late surge to fend off the Jets and win the schools' only meeting last season 57-47 in Maryville last season January 21, 2021.  NU led by five in the first quarter, but Northwest drew even at 10 to end the first.  Newman again pulled in front by five after starting the second on a 7-2 run, but the Bearcats responded with an 11-3 run to end the half and lead 23-20 at halftime.  The Bearcats led by as many as nine in the third, but NU slashed the lead to four heading into the final stanza.  The Jets cut the lead as close as two but could never draw even in the last quarter.  NU cut the lead again to 44-41 with just under five minutes to go when Northwest hit 3-pointers on three-straight possessions as part of a 14-3 run that put the game out of reach.
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.
 
HERDING THE HILLCATS, GRINDING WITH THE GRIFFONS, AND BRINGING UP THE BEARCATS
Kyle Bent is in his fourth year leading Hillcat women's basketball and entered the season with a career record of 185-149 with an 88-79 mark in conference play.  Through 2020-21, Bent was 119-92 at 4-year schools and 24-54 at Rogers State with an 8-33 record inside 'The Association.'  Bent's best Hillcat team was his first in 2018-19, a team that finished 14-14 overall and fourth in the Heartland Conference standings with a 7-7 record.  Bent's last two seasons on 'The Hilltop' are the only two that his teams have missed the postseason.  Prior to joining RSU, Bent coached four successful seasons at Martin Methodist (renamed to University of Tennessee Southern in 2021) and went 95-38 while leading the RedHawks (now FireHawks) to a 53-19 record in the Southern States Athletic Conference.  Bent finished with at least 21 wins in his four seasons with the 'Hawks and led them to the 2018 SSAC title and four NAIA Tournament appearances.  In his first collegiate job, Bent transformed Danville Area Community College into a contender in just four seasons.  DACC finished 3-26 his first year but went 63-31 over his next three seasons, culminating by sharing the 2014 Mid-West Athletic Conference regular season championship.  For his effort, Bent was recognized as the 2012 NJCAA Region XXIV Coach of the Year.  Bent's coaching career started at his alma mater where he coached the University of Illinois Women's Club basketball team to a 36-8 record, a whopping 34-win improvement over the previous year, and the 2010 Women's National Collegiate Club Basketball Championship.  Bent is 1-5 against the Jets in his RSU career.
 
Candi Whitaker is in her third season as the head coach of the Griffons.  Whitaker's record through two seasons in St. Joseph was 27-24 with a 19-22 mark in the MIAA coming into the year.  She experienced immediate success in St. Joseph by leading the Griffons to a 21-8 record in her inaugural season with a 13-6 league record in 2019-20.  She came to the Griffons following a season off after a stint as head coach at Texas Tech from 2013-18.  Whitaker is now in her 14^th year as a head coach and started the year with a career record of 160-199 with an 80-148 conference mark.  While in Lubbock, the Lady Raiders went 54-82 while tallying a 13-61 Big 12 record.  She previously went 77-93 as head coach at UMKC with a 5-8 Mid-Con record and a 43-56 mark inside the Summit League.  Whitaker has also logged stops as an assistant at Valparaiso and Oklahoma State.  While at Texas Tech as a player, she helped lead the Lady Raiders to the NCAA Tournament and Sweet 16 in both of her years with the program.  She started her career in Kansas playing at Seward County Community College from 1998-2000.  Whitaker is 2-0 against the Jets as Griffon head coach.
 
Austin Meyer has led the Northwest women's basketball program for the past three seasons but has been a Bearcat for far longer.  Prior to taking over the program in March of 2018, Meyer served for a decade as an assistant for Bearcat men's basketball starting in 2008.  As women's head coach, Meyer started the season with a 20-38 record as women's coach with a 14-38 MIAA mark.  While a member of the men's basketball staff, Northwest Missouri won an average of 21.5 games per year and the 2017 national title.  As lead recruiter for the men's program, Meyer was on the bench for six MIAA championships and four MIAA Tournament titles.  Meyer is one of the all-time greats at the school as a player after scoring nearly 1,300 career points for the 'Cats and graduating as the program's all-time career leader in 3-pointers after lettering all four years as a Bearcat from 2002-06.  He then spent two seasons as a graduate assistant under coach Steve Tappmeyer before starting full-time two years later.  Meyer is 2-0 against the Jets in his tenure in Maryville.
 
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
The Jets are getting a handle on their turnover problem.  Newman has turned it over 16 times or less in each of the last three games.  NU had committed at least 18 turnovers in six of their previous seven contests.
 
DE-FENSE
Newman has held each of their previous two opponents to under 40% from the field.  Fort Hays State was the last team to make over 50% of their shots against the Jet defense.
 
PUTTING IN THE TIME
When Carissa Beck logged 40 minutes in Newman's loss to Northeastern State, she was the first Jet to log at least that many minutes since 2016.  That season, Shaunice Robinson and Bria DeGrate each played at least 40 minutes in a 63-58 defeat in overtime to Rogers State February 20, 2016 in Claremore.  Robinson played a whopping 44 minutes in the game while DeGrate registered 40 minutes.
 
MADE IN THE MIDWEST
The Jets didn't have to acquire any frequent-flyer miles to arrive on campus.  All 15 Jets hail from the Central Time Zone and represent just three different states.  Nine Jets stayed home in Kansas to play for NU, four made the trip north from Texas, and two came west from Missouri.
 
BRINGING THEIR 'A' GAME

• Junior transfer Tiffany Dortland is ninth in the league in 3-pointers attempted entering this week's action.  She is also seventh in overall field goal attempts.
• The Navy & Red start the week fifth in the MIAA in free throw percentage (73.8%).

 
NU STATS N' STREAKS

• Coming into this week, NU ranked 14^th in the league in scoring offense in MIAA games at 48.9 ppg.  Newman is 9^th in scoring defense allowing 67.9 ppg.
• The Jets look to end their 10-game losing streak and 12-game losing slide in conference play with a victory this week.  The 10-game losing streak is the longest in program history, passing last season's nine-game losing slide.
• Former Derby Panther Sydney Nilles set a new career high with 8 rebounds at Central Missouri.
• Senior guard Makayla Hayes doubled her rebounding career high by controlling 12 boards in NU's loss at Lincoln.  Her previous best of six also came at Jason Gym in Jefferson City last season.  She also matched a career high of 2 steals for the second time in the same game.
• Former Bishop Carroll Golden Eagle Britney Ho matched a career high of two steals @ Lincoln.
• Against Northeastern State, freshman guard Lauryn Dubbert matched career highs with four assists and two steals.
• Junior transfer guard Carissa Beck matched a career high with three 3-pointers in a road loss at Central Oklahoma.
• NU's 27 turnovers at Central Oklahoma were the most since the Jets turned it over 27 times against St. Mary's in Heartland Conference action February 23, 2017.  In the same game, Bronchos center Kelsey Johnson scored 30 points, the first opponent to score at least that many against the Jets since Kenzi Lamer torched NU for 32 points on 10 of 14 shooting from outside the arc in a 68-66 win for Northwestern Oklahoma State over the Jets in Wichita November 16, 2019.
• 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.
• Ho scored a career-high 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the Jets' home defeat to Emporia State.
• 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.
•  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 erupted for a career-high 19 points in just 11 minutes in the Jets' loss to Cameron.
• Dubbert set new career highs with nine points and eight rebounds against Mary.
• Transfer Tiffany Dortland set a program record for most points in a 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!
The Jets hit the road with quick trips to Washburn and Emporia State next week.
 
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
Week 7:  Tre'Zure Jobe – Emporia State
Week 8:  Kelsey Johnson (3) – Central Oklahoma (3)
Week 9:  Lacy Stokes – Missouri Southern