The Lowdown: McPherson College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Nov. 18 @ 5 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are now 3-1 on the young season following a 84-61 victory in the KCAC opener at Kansas Wesleyan University on Wednesday (Nov. 15) that saw the Falcons outscore the Coyotes 30-7 in the fourth quarter after the game was even at 54-54 heading into the final period.

Rayland Garner, this week's top KCAC offensive player, had another solid game with game-high totals of 24 points and four assists. Taylor Jackson powered the Falcons with a strong double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Kori Babcock and Jadyn Glasgow each scored 10. Natia Hagan also dished out four assists for the Falcons.

The Falcons are led by the duo of Garner and Jackson this season. Garner is currently tops in the KCAC with 20.8 points per game and ranks fourth in field-goal percentage (.571). Jackson is leading the conference in rebounding (11.8 rpg) along with 12.3 ppg. Kori Babcock is also scoring in double-figures at 12.8 ppg. Lauryn McIver has dished out a team-leading 3.3 assists per game this season for Friends.

Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs are 3-2 on the season after dropping their conference opener 82-58 to Bethel College Wednesday night.  

Chloe Clevenger leads McPherson with 11.2 points per game this season, followed by Madelyn Hankins and Gillian Rodgers with 10.0 ppg apiece. Rodgers is the Bulldogs' top rebounder with 6.6 rpg, with Hankins and Taylor Starr each recording a team-leading two assists per game.

The Series: The Falcons are 31-9 vs. the Bulldogs since 2005 after sweeping both meetings last season.  In Wichita, the Falcons have won 18 of 21 outings during that span. Friends has also won three straight overall vs. McPherson and is 6-4 in the last 10 matchups.

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston: 

"In the KCAC you can't relax. We get right back at it on Saturday. McPherson has a young and hungry team who is off to a good start this season. It's important for us to learn how to let go of our last game and quickly get focused on the next. We have to continue to develop our offensive timing on the perimeter and in transition. We want to go into Thanksgiving on a win streak, so we should be dialed in and ready."

Offensive Showcase: Friends University freshman forward Rayland Garner collected her first career KCAC Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday (Nov. 13), giving the Falcons three of the first four KCAC weekly awards this season after Kori Babcock (Offense) and Taylor Jackson (Defense) were the previous week's winners. 

Garner was solid offensively the entire week for the Falcons, starting with a team-high 18 points in an exhibition outing at NCAA D-I member Oral Roberts University.

The Kingfisher, Okla. native then poured in a game-high 26 points to fuel the Falcons to an impressive 72-68 road victory at Oklahoma City University on Saturday (Nov. 11).

Read the full release HERE!

Block Parties: Taylor Jackson has been a major deterrent for the Falcons inside since joining the program for the 2021-22 season. Jackson won six KCAC Defensive Player of the Week awards last season and has now collected 10 for her career after winning the award earlier this year. The Houston, Texas native is the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks and has 214 swats for her career.

Sponsor Alerts: Friends University Athletics is excited to have Home2 Suites by Hilton as an official athletic sponsor this season! For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit their official webpage.

Falcons by the Numbers

Overall record: 3-1

KCAC: 1-0

Home: 1-0

Road: 2-1

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                           

Under 50 points: 0-1

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 0-0

70-79 points: 1-0

80-89 points: 1-0

90+ points:  1-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 1-0

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 2-0

70-79 points: 0-1

80-89 points: 0-0

90+ points: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 2-0

When trailing at halftime: 1-1

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 1-0

When committing more turnovers: 1-1

When turnovers are even: 1-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 3-0

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-1

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 2-0

When trailing in three-point percentage: 1-1

When leading in rebounding: 3-0

When trailing in rebounding: 0-1

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 2-0

When trailing in assists: 1-1

When assists are even: 0-0

In OT: 0-0

The Coaches:

Dean Jaderston is in his fifth season at the helm of the Friends University women's basketball program. The Falcon women's basketball program has seen considerable growth under his leadership both on and off the court.  Last year the team finished 17-14, catching fire at the end of the season, making it all the way to the KCAC tournament championship game at Hartman Arena.

Jaderston brings a wealth of experience to Friends University, with over 30 years of coaching high school and college basketball (13 years high school and 23 years at the college level). Last season he recorded his 300th career collegiate win on December 13th vs. Tabor College.

As a men's basketball coach Jaderston was a two-time KCAC Coach of the Year. He coached six NAIA All-America performers during his tenure at Sterling College. He also led his teams to  two KCAC championships and one KCAC tournament championship.

Prior to taking over at Sterling, Jaderston served in the dual role of men's basketball head coach and assistant athletic director at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL for five seasons.

Before entering the college ranks he spent eight seasons as both the head girls' basketball and head girls' and boys' tennis coach at Rosemount High School in Rosemount, MN, and 4 years as the head boys' basketball coach at Eastview High School in Apple Valley, MN.

As an athlete Jaderston was a successful college basketball player at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, MN.  He was a four-time all-conference selection while helping the team advance to four national tournaments. He also earned All-America and Academic All-America during his college career.

He also competed in tennis for three years at Crown and was a two-time conference singles and three-time conference doubles champion.

Jaderston and his wife Julie have been married for 34 years and are active in youth and camping ministries. They currently serve as executive directors of a premier summer Christian family conference called Northern Pines of Minnesota. They have 3 married sons and 7 grandchildren.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History/Secondary Education from Crown College in 1989 and then completed a Master of Arts in Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy from Adler Graduate School in 1998.

Josh Nichols is in his sixtht season as head coach at McPherson College after a three-year stint in the same position at Bacone College.  The 2021-22 season was the Bulldogs' best under Nichols thus far, winning 16 games overall and finishing tied for fourth in the KCAC with a 13-8 league record.

Nichols led Bacone to 36 wins during his tenure and three SAC tournament appearances. Before taking over at Bacone, Nichols was the assistant coach for five seasons at Iowa Wesleyan University.     

Up Next: The Falcons will take time off for the Thanksgiving Break before resuming action Saturday (Nov. 25) for a noon tip-off at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo.