Game 1:
Newman (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) @ Wayne State (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Friday, November 11, 2022 | 4:00 p.m. | Wayne, Neb. (Rice Auditorium)
Audio:  None | Video:  NSIC Network | Live Stats:  WSC Athletics
 
LET'S DO THIS
Newman women's basketball tips off the 2022-23 season with a road trip to the Cornhusker State.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Kansas State started fast with a 7-0 run and never trailed on the way to a 104-47 exhibition victory over the Jets.  Unlike the last meeting between Newman and the Wildcats, K-State was ready for the Navy & Red this time frustrating the Jets into 24.6% shooting from the field.  The Big 12 'Cats dominated the paint outscoring NU 62-16 inside and outrebounding the Jets 48-26.  Two Jets scored in double figures with Britney Ho leading NU with 13 points.  Maddie Spagnola sparkled under the lights with 11 points, a team-high six rebounds, three assists against just one turnover, and a game-high six steals.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
SCOUTING THE SQUADRON
Newman finished 2021-22 with a 3-25 record while going 1-21 in MIAA play.  The Navy & Red return seven players from last year's team including top scorer Britney Ho, who averaged 10.4 ppg.  Ho also led the Jets in total rebounds averaging 5.1 rpg and was the team's best field goal shooter at 49%.  Senior Carissa Beck averaged 32 mpg last year while playing and starting in all 28 contests for the Jets.  Beck scored 6.5 ppg while leading Newman with 51 3-pointers and connecting on 36.7% of her shots from the outside.  Sophomore Lauryn Dubbert was third on the team in assists last year with 59.
 
Newman will carry three seniors on the roster this season while integrating four freshmen into the program.  The Jets welcome eight transfers to the roster in 2022-23 including four from the junior college level, three from NCAA Division II, and one from NCAA Division I.  The Jet lineup features two graduate students, four juniors, and six sophomores.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Wayne State College suffered back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in over two decades last season after a 9-15 campaign in 2021-22.  The Wildcats finished seventh in the South Division of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a 6-14 league record.  The Wildcats started the season well going 5-1 over the first three and a half weeks.  Wayne State struggled down the stretch losing 11 of their last 13 to end the season, including the last four in a row to miss the NSIC Tournament.  Prior to the previous two seasons, Wayne State had posted 16 straight seasons with a record at or above .500.  The last time the Wildcats finished with a losing mark was during the 2003-04 season when WSC struggled to a 13-15 mark under head coach Ryun Williams.  These are the first consecutive losing seasons for the Wildcats since enduring three-straight years under .500 from 1995-98.  The Wildcats are seeking their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023, which would be their first since 2015.  WSC was picked 13^th overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll and finished in a tie for sixth with Southwest Minnesota State in the South Division poll.  The Wildcats are loaded with experience returning four of their top five scorers and rebounders from a season ago.
 
THE SERIES
Wayne State College leads the all-time series 5-0.  The Wildcats are 3-0 in NU's NCAA Division II era.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
After a back-and-forth first 30 minutes, Wayne State used a 17-3 fourth quarter run to take control of the game and hold off the Jets for a season-opening 72-65 victory November 13, 2021, at Fugate Gymnasium.  An early 7-0 run put the Jets in front 11-6 midway through the first quarter, but the 'Cats closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 20-17 lead to the second.  Both teams struggled offensively in the second period shooting under 36% from the field, but WSC converted five free throws to win the period while the Jets didn't attempt a foul shot.  The free throw disparity helped the Wildcats take a 38-30 lead into the break.  The Jets made their move in the third by doubling up WSC 22-11 in the frame thanks to 64.3% shooting from the field in the period while holding Wayne State to just 4-for-14 from the field in the third.  The Jets led by five after a Britney Ho layup just seconds into the fourth, but NU was outscored 23-13 by the 'Cats in the period.  Tiffany Dortland led the Jets with 27 points, setting the Newman record for points in a player's debut as a Jet.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
FIRST IMPRESSION
The Jets are 8-7 in season openers in the program's Division II history.  Last year's loss to Wayne State snapped a three-game winning streak in season openers for the Navy & Red.  Newman is playing Wayne State to tip off the season for the second-straight year.  The Johnsons are 0-1 in season openers at NU.
 
PUTTING IN THE TIME
Before last season, no Jet had logged 40 minutes in a game 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, Okla.  Last season, Carissa Beck played every minute of the game five times, including a stretch of three out of four games in late January.  Beck logged over 32 minutes per game last season and was the first Jet to register over 900 minutes since Bria DeGrate played 925 minutes in 31 games in the 2018-19 season.  Beck played 149 more minutes than the second-most used Jet last season and logged 39 minutes in two other games last year while playing at least 30 minutes in 20 of her 28 games a year ago.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
Newman's new players arrived in Wichita from all over the country during the offseason and even around the world.  After boasting 15 Jets from just three different states a year ago, Newman women's basketball will have a much more diverse list of hometowns on this year's roster.  Six Jets are from the Sunflower State, three are from Texas with Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and South Dakota also represented.  For the first time in the Johnson era, the Jets have at least one international player on the roster with players from Lithuania and Spain joining the squad for 2022-23.
 
HEIGH-HO, IT'S OFF TO WORK SHE GOES
Senior forward Britney Ho enters her senior season with a chance to etch her name into the Newman record books.  Her 49.0% field goal percentage was the eighth-best recorded by a Jet in the Division II era a season ago.  The Wichita has an opportunity to finish in the top 10 in career field goal percentage and scoring average this season.  Alexandra Ciabattoni is the all-time leader in season field goal percentage after hitting 59.5% of her shots during her sophomore campaign in 2013-14.
 
BECK AND CALL
Senior shooting guard Carissa Beck made an impressive debut shooting from the outside a season ago.  The former Circle High School Thunderbird shot 36.7% on 3-pointers last season, good for ninth best all-time in Newman's Division II era.  Beck's 50 3-point field goals were tied for seventh-most in program history.  Hitting 50 of her 139 attempts, Beck has already qualified for Newman's career 3-point field goal percentage records and enters the season tied atop the list with Hannah Alexander who also hit 36.7% of her three-balls during her two-year career from 2016-18.  Alexander also owns Newman's season 3-point field goal percentage record after shooting a blistering 41.4% from downtown during her junior season in 2016-17.  The all-time 3-point leader in makes and attempts is Kaitlyn Potter who finished 196-for-539 in her two-year Jet career.  With one more made three, Beck will tie Dede Johnson for 10^th in career 3-point field goals made.
 
OUR NEWEST EXHIBIT
The Jets played an exhibition for the first time since 2020 when Kansas State visited Fugate Gymnasium and narrowly escaped with a 63-59 victory.  That was also the last time the Navy & Red squared off with a foe from NCAA Division I.  Newman's last trip to Bramlage Coliseum was November 7, 2016, as the Wildcats overwhelmed the Jets on the way to a 100-33 exhibition victory.  Bria DeGrate led Newman with nine points.
 
SPAGNOLA'S SWIPES
Graduate transfer Maddie Spagnola proved to be a pest to the Kansas State offense in Newman's preseason exhibition game against the Wildcats in Manhattan.  If it had occurred in a regulation game, Spagnola's six steals against K-State would have tied for seventh in the NU record book for single-game steals and would have been the eighth occurrence of six swipes in program history.  Kesha Buckner currently holds the record with eight thefts against Lubbock Christian back in January 2015.  Five Jets (Tasha Cannon, Buckner, Jazzmen Ortiz, Bria DeGrate, and Amoni White) have recorded seven steals in a game.
 
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Newman began a new era in 2021 as the Jets welcomed Drew Johnson and Nicole Ohlde-Johnson to Wichita as the new leaders of Jets Women's Basketball.  The Johnsons are in their second season at Newman and enter 2022-23 with a 3-25 record at NU while posting a 1-21 mark in MIAA play.  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 Johnsons 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.
 
The Johnsons are 0-1 against Wayne State.
 
WHISPERING WITH THE WILDCATS
Brent Pollari enters his fifth season at Wayne State College and has coached the Wildcats to a 46-53 record through three seasons and a 31-47 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.
 
Pollari is 1-0 all-time versus Newman.
 
BRINGING THEIR 'A' GAME

• Junior shooting guard Carissa Beck finished tied for seventh in the league last season making 1.8 3-pointers per game.
• Beck was also one of the most-used players in the league a season ago averaging 32.3 minutes per game, ninth most in the MIAA.

 
NU STATS N' STREAKS

• Newman finished last in the MIAA last year offensively scoring 53.6 ppg.
• The Jets were ninth in the league defensively a year ago surrendering 66.8 ppg.
• 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.
• The Jets enter 2022 primed to bust a long losing streak away from home.  NU has dropped 20-straight contests on the road after losing the last nine of the 2020-21 season and going 0-11 away from Wichita last season.  The Jets' last road win came at Washburn in a 56-52 defensive struggle December 5, 2020, at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kan.

 
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The Jets are back on the road next week to face two non-conference foes at the UCO Classic on November 18-19.
 
2022 MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
Coaches
1.  Missouri Southern (6) – 159 Points
2.  Fort Hays State (3) – 151 Points
3.  Nebraska-Kearney (2) – 144 Points
4.  Missouri Western (3) – 139 Points
5.  Central Missouri – 127 Points
6.  Emporia State – 106 Points
7.  Northwest Missouri – 100 Points
8.  Pittsburg State – 85 Points
9.  Central Oklahoma – 74 Points
10.  Washburn – 62 Points
11.  Rogers State – 50 Points
12.  Northeastern State – 31 Points
13.  Newman – 28 Points
14.  Lincoln – 18 Points
 
Media
1.  Missouri Southern (13) – 249 Points
2.  Fort Hays State (4) – 234 Points
3.  Central Missouri (3) – 218 Points
4.  Nebraska-Kearney – 216 Points
5.  Missouri Western – 211 Points
6.  Northwest Missouri – 164 Points
7.  Emporia State – 145 Points
8.  Pittsburg State – 129 Points
9.  Central Oklahoma – 127 Points
10.  Washburn – 108 Points
11.  Rogers State – 74 Points
12.  Northeastern State – 57 Points
T13.  Newman – 31 Points
T13.  Lincoln – 31 Points
 
2021-22 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
Week 10:  Maleeah Langstaff – Northeastern State
Week 11:  Lacy Stokes (2) – Missouri Southern (2)
Week 12:  Lacy Stokes (3) – Missouri Southern (3)
Week 13:  Lacy Stokes (4) – Missouri Southern (4)
Week 14:  Kelsey Johnson (4) – Central Oklahoma (4)
Week 15:  Lacy Stokes (5) – Missouri Southern (5)