Game 12:
Newman (4-5, 1-3 MIAA) vs. Emporia State (8-2, 4-1 MIAA)
Saturday, December 31, 2022 | 1:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network (Play-by-Play:  Blake Cripps) | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
SO LONG 2022
Newman wraps up play for the calendar year on New Year's Eve this weekend.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Jets committed 25 turnovers leading to 19 Fort Hays State points off those turnovers in an 83-51 defeat December 18, 2022, at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kan.  The Jets were outscored 19-8 off the fast break while the FHSU bench doubled up the Jets in scoring 36-18.  NU was outscored 18-5 at the free throw line and 27-12 from the 3-point line.  Britney Ho led the Jets with 13 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Emporia State's NCAA Tournament streak ended last year following a lackluster 15-14 season that saw the Lady Hornets finish 10-12 in MIAA play.  That snapped a 19-year streak of finishing with a winning record in conference play dating back to the fourth year of the Brandon Schneider era in 2001-02.  Following three straight trips to the Sweet 16 or better in the NCAA Tournament, that Lady Hornet team finished 16-12 with an 8-10 MIAA record.  Emporia State is the winningest program in the MIAA since 1999-2000 and entered the season with a record of 555-164 overall and an MIAA record of 329-111.  The Lady Hornets have made 26 straight trips to the MIAA Tournament and in that streak have made 22 semifinal appearances and have played for the tournament title 15 times.  ESU has won at least 20 games 22 times out of the last 26 seasons and came into the season as the eighth-winningest women's program in NCAA Division II history with 980 wins.  The Lady Hornets are seeking their 23^rd NCAA Tournament appearance which should be their 24^th, but ESU does not claim its 2020 NCAA bid as the Big Dance was cancelled by the NCAA due to the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic.  Not counting 2020, ESU has missed March Madness just four times (2002, 2011, 2018, 2022) since making their first-ever bid in 1997.
 
Emporia State starts the second semester with a six-game winning streak snapped by Missouri Western in their last outing before Christmas break.  ESU is tied for fourth in the MIAA standings and ranks sixth offensively and defensively in MIAA games scoring 69.2 ppg while allowing 63.4 ppg in conference action.  Former Wichita South Lady Titan Tre'Zure Jobe is second in the league in scoring at 19.9 ppg while Maary Lakes leads E-State grabbing 5.2 rpg.
 
The Lady Hornets host Bethel College on Thursday.
 
THE SERIES
Emporia State leads the all-time series 21-3 and has won four straight and six of the last seven against the Jets.  ESU leads 10-3 in NU's NCAA Division II era.  All three of Newman's wins have come at Fugate Gymnasium.  The Jets are 1-5 against the Lady Hornets in MIAA play.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
Emporia State buzzed to a 12-2 run to begin the ballgame and never trailed in an 82-48 victory over the Jets January 30, 2022, at White Auditorium in Emporia, Kan.  Emporia State shot a blistering 62.5% from the field in the first quarter on the way to a 23-10 lead the Jets could never reel in.  The Jets were pressured into 21 turnovers and the Lady Hornets outscored the Navy & Red 30-6 in points off turnovers.  Five ESU players scored in double figures.  Tiffany Dortland paced the Jets with 13 points off the bench.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
CARISSA KNOWS IT ALL
Carissa Beck continues to move up Newman's career 3-point field goals list.  Beck most recently passed Rhea Codio's 71 treys made in just one season in 2010-11.  Codio's 71 3-pointers that season are also fourth on the NU single-season list.  Beck needs eight three-balls to tie the 82 hit by Braxtyn Stewart.  Stewart accomplished the feat in 106 career games from 2017-21. 
 
CAREER 3PT FIELD GOALS MADE
Rk.           Player                                      3PTM      Games    Years      
1.             Kaitlyn Potter                          196          59            2018-20
2.             Brianna Caldwell                     150          78            2012-16
3.             Bria DeGrate                           143          113          2015-19
4.             Haley Albers                            124          110          2017-21
5.             Rainey Nickel                          113          80            2007-10
5.             Cheniqwa Banks                     113          54            2012-14
7.             Hadley Freeman                     95            79            2007-10
8.             Braxtyn Stewart                      82            106          2017-21
9.             Carissa Beck                           76            39            2021-23
10.           Rhea Codio                              71            27            2010-11
 
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.
 
I HATE THE 80'S
The Jets have allowed four opponents to score in the 80's in NU's five-game losing streak.  Three of the Jets' last five foes have shot 50% or better from the field.  All five opponents have outscored the Jets from behind the 3-point line.
 
EW… GROSS…
The Jets are 0-12 at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kan., since joining the ranks of NCAA Division II.  Eight of the losses have come at the hands of Fort Hays State in true road contests, five of which occurred as nonconference matchups before the Jets joined the MIAA for the 2019-20 season.  The Jets are 0-4 in the building against the Tigers in MIAA competition.
 
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 0-2 against the Lady Hornets.
 
REIGNING OVER THE SWARM
Toby Wynn is the seventh head coach in Emporia State women's basketball history and is in his fifth year in Emporia.  Wynn entered the year 79-37 at the helm for the Lady Hornets and his teams earned an NCAA Tournament bid to go along with at least 20 victories in each of his first three seasons.  Entering this season at ESU, Wynn's teams are 55-27 in MIAA play.  Wynn joined the swarm after a successful 13-year stint at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kan.  There he led the Saints to a 349-84 record and began the year 428-121 overall in 17 total seasons.  The Saints posted five 25-win seasons to close out his time as a junior college coach.  Prior to becoming the head coach at Seward County, Wynn was an assistant there in 2004-05 under former Oklahoma State head coach and current Wichita State assistant coach Jim Littell.  Wynn joined the Saints after coaching girls basketball at Liberal High School in Kansas.  He previously coached boys and girls basketball at Balko High School in Oklahoma.  Wynn played collegiately at Northwestern Oklahoma State for one season before transferring to and graduating from Oklahoma State.
 
Wynn is 5-1 against the Jets.
 
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.
 
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.  Five 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 Latvia and Spain joining the squad for 2022-23.
 
BRINGING THEIR 'A' GAME

• Senior Britney Ho is currently third in the MIAA in scoring at 17.3 ppg.
• Ho's 48.8% shooting from the field is seventh in 'The Association.'
• Senior Carissa Beck leads the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage at 51.0%.
• Beck is tied for second in the conference with 2.3 3-point field goals per game.
• Graduate Maddie Spagnola is fifth in the MIAA in assists averaging 4.1 apg.

 
NU STATS N' STREAKS

• Ho has now scored in double figures in back-to-back games and 10 of her 11 contests this year.  Ho's streak of double-digit scoring that started last season was snapped at 14 in Newman's loss to Missouri Southern.
• Ho picked up her second double-double of the year at Nebraska-Kearney, matching her career-high of 12 rebounds in the game.  That tied her personal best set at Lincoln last year.
• In MIAA action, NU is 13^th offensively scoring 49.7 ppg in league play.
• The Jets rank 13^th defensively in conference games allowing 77.0 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.

 
COMING ATTRACTIONS
The Jets return to the Sooner state for two MIAA games next week at Rogers State and Northeastern State.
 
2022-23 MIAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1:  Lacy Stokes – Missouri Southern
Week 2:  Alayzha Knapp – Central Oklahoma
Week 3:  Connie Clarke – Missouri Western
Week 4:  Katie Wagner – Fort Hays State
Week 5:  Lacy Stokes (2) – Missouri Southern (2)
Week 6:  Brooke Littrell – Central Missouri
 
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