By Monty Franks

sports@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — Expecting to start “the second season” on a positive note, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M;’s Lady Norse are back at home today for a 6 p.m. basketball clash in the NEO Fieldhouse against the 20th ranked Lady Jets of Northern Oklahoma College-Enid.

After suffering a 59-45 loss at Coffeyville, Kan., last Tuesday, coach Jim Rowland's Lady Norse enter Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference action with a 2-3 overall record.

The 10-team OCAC is the former Bi-State Athletic Conference, which was renamed after last season. The Lady Norse finished second in the Bi-State East last season with a 5-3 record.

Coach Scott Morris' Lady Jets come to Miami with a perfect 9-0 mark, 1-0 in the OCAC. The Lady Jets defeated Garden City, Kan., 72-58, Friday night in Enid.

Last year under Morris, the Lady Jets won the Western Division of the Bi-State with a perfect 8-0 record. The Lady Jets lost to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith 78-67 in the Region II semifinals to finish 24-8 on the year.

Behind a 30-point performance from center Skye Rees, the Lady Norse earned a 77-73 victory over the Lady Jets last season in the NEO Fieldhouse. NOC was led by a 35-point production by guard Deeva Vaque.

Traveling to the Mabee Center in Enid last year, the Lady Norse were unable to overcome a 31-26 halftime deficit en route to a 63-57 loss to the Lady Jets. Megan Fraley and Nolisha Markham combined for 14 points each to lead NEO, while Vaque tallied 16 points for NOC.

With nine sophomores returning, the Lady Jets are averaging 76 points on offense while allowing 49 points per game on defense. Starting in the backcourt for the Lady Jets will be sophomores Alyssa Hankins (5-5 of Putnam City) and Darcie Dick (5-8 of Cordell).

Hankins has a 3.1 scoring average with 13 assists. She leads the Lady Jets with 10 steals. Dick is averaging 10 points per game while leading NOC with 22 assists and recording eight steals.

Starting at the guard positions for the Lady Norse will be sophomore Kashei Hopkins (5-7 of Rockwall, Va.) and freshman Shea Bowden (5-4 of Oklahoma City). Hopkins is averaging 3.6 points with 10 assists and seven steals. Bowden has a 11.2 scoring average while leading NEO with 11 assists and six steals.

Freshmen Katie Beebe (5-10 of Okarche) and Tiffany Goldwire (5-10 of Del City) play on the perimeter for the Lady Jets. Beebe leads the team with a 15.6 scoring mark with a 2.2 rebounding average with 16 assists and 15 steals.

Goldwire averages 11 points while leading the team in rebounding with a 9.5 mark.

Veteran Ashley McKeel ( 5-9 of Snow, Okla.) and freshmen Ashley Jordan (5-11 of San Antonio, Texas) start on the perimeter for NEO.

McKeel is scoring 4.1 points per game and 1.9 rebounding average. Jordan has an 11.8 scoring mark while grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Kelsey Gregory (6-0 of Edmond North) starts in the post position for the Lady Jets. Gregory is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds each contest.

Matching up in the post position for NEO is sophomore Jelena Cerina (6-5 from Vrsac, Serbia) with a team-leading 13.6 scoring average and an 8.2 rebounding mark. She has recorded five blocked shots.

“This is another one of those games where we need Jelena to get established on the inside,” Rowland said. “We kept going to her, going to her and going to her against Coffeyville because we want her to become dominate.

“But, we’ve got to do a better job of establishing our offense,” Rowland said. “We've got to make sure we take good shots and if they aren't there kick the ball out and start over.”

After a seven-day break for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Lady Norse travel to Tonkawa on Dec. 1 for a 6 p.m. conference contest with the Northern Oklahoma College Lady Mavericks.

“I would rather be playing on Friday or Saturday rather than taking a week off,” Rowland said. “I didn't want a classic over Thanksgiving because we've got a conference game on Tuesday, but we needed another game at this point.”