Games 14 & 15: 
Newman (2-11, 0-7 MIAA) vs. Northeastern State (2-8, 0-4 MIAA)
Saturday, January 8, 2022 | 1:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
vs. Rogers State (4-10, 0-8 MIAA)
Monday, January 10, 2022 | 6:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
 
BACK TO WORK
The Jets play their first home games of 2022 this week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Newman played tough but a slow start and a bad finish doomed the Jets in Edmond in a 66-52 loss to Central Oklahoma January 3.  UCO jumped out to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter, but NU stayed in it in the second and third quarters and trimmed the lead down to four points in the second half.  UCO built the lead back to nine in the fourth when a Lauren Dubbert 3-pointer cut the deficit to six with 6:32 to play.  UCO put the game away with nine straight points as part of an 11-2 run to end the game.  Tiffany Dortland led the Jets with 16 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
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.
 
Northeastern State finished 6-16 a season ago with all 22 games coming inside the MIAA.  It was the eighth-straight losing season for the RiverHawks since going 19-8 with a 14-4 MIAA record in their first year as a league member.  It was the 14^th consecutive winning season for the program that won six North Division titles in the Lone Star Conference and the 2003 Lone Star Conference Tournament.  The RiverHawks finished as the runner-up in the MIAA in 2013 but haven't notched a winning league record since.  NSU finished their last two seasons as a Lone Star Conference member going 53-12 with a 25-3 LSC record.  As an independent school, the 'Hawks went 25-5 in 2011-12 and made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the program's most recent.  NSU claims seven NCAA appearances overall and twice have made the Sweet 16.  NSU is looking to end a three-year postseason drought by making the MIAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 this season.
 
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.
 
The RiverHawks lead the series 4-1 and have taken two in a row from the Navy & Red.  NSU leads 3-1 in MIAA games and beat the Jets in the teams' only postseason meeting in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
 
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
 
NSU used a big third quarter to overcome a six-point halftime deficit and defeat the Jets 76-63 in Wichita February 18, 2021.  NU started hot early by taking a 16-8 lead on the heels of a 14-2 run in the first quarter.  The game shifted in the third when the RiverHawks ended the frame on a 12-4 run to lead by eight going to the final 10 minutes.  NU couldn't get closer than nine in the final period.  Makayla Hayes led NU with 13 points.
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 AND FLYING WITH THE RIVERHAWKS
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.  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 no fewer than 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.  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.
 
Fala Suiaunoa (formerly Bullock) is in her fifth season on the bench for the RiverHawks in Tahlequah.  She entered the season with a 125-149 overall record in nine seasons as a head coach and began the year 27-76 in MIAA play.  Her first team is NSU's last to make the postseason and it is also NSU's most recent team to win at least 10 games.  Prior to taking over at Northeastern State, Suiaunoa spent four seasons at Armstrong State and took her 2013-14 squad to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.  After going 21-8 in her first year, Armstrong State went 39-44 over Suiaunoa's final three seasons.  She started her career by leading Central Georgia to a 38-22 record over two seasons from 2011-13.
 
THERE IN SPIRIT
Coach Nicole Ohlde-Johnson hopes to return to the bench for Saturday's game against Northeastern State following her pregnancy.  The Newman community is excited to welcome her and Coach Drew's new son Cooper to the Jet family! 
 
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

• Senior forward Faith Mason-Vestal enters the game fifth in blocks per game in the MIAA.
• Junior transfer Tiffany Dortland is eighth in the league in 3-pointers attempted and ninth in makes entering this week's action.
• As a team, the Jets commit the sixth-fewest fouls (15.5) per game in the conference.

 
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 seven-game losing streak and nine-game losing slide in conference play with a victory this week.
• 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.
• 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 erupted for a career-high 19 points in just 11 minutes in the Jets' loss to Cameron.
• Transfer 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!
The Jets head out for their longest road trip of the season to play Lincoln and Central Missouri 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