Lindsborg, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons wasted no time in taking control to hand the Bethany College Swedes their first conference loss, 69-51 in KCAC action tonight (Nov. 29) in Lindsborg, Kan.

The Falcons are now 5-2 overall and have won their first three conference games for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

A big key to Friends gaining an early foothold was the play of Lauryn McIver, who scored eight of her career-high 15 points within the first five minutes of the game to help stake the Falcons to a double-digit lead of 15-4.

A three-point play by Rayland Garner pushed the lead to 20-8 and another score from Garner made it a 14-point edge at 24-10.

The Falcons led 24-14 at the end of the opening period and with the advantage still 10 at 32-22, the Swedes came as close as they would come with five straight points to trim the lead to five with 2:10 left in the first half.

A three by McIver quickly thwarted the Bethany rally and a score from Taylor Jackson along with a layup by Ashlyn Ryall with just four seconds left stretched the Falcon lead back to 39-27 at the break.

The Swedes got a three by Kylie Dunn to open the third period, and that would be the final time the game was in single-digits as a pair of free throws by McIver and a three from Trinity Johnson gave the Falcons a 14-point lead less than two minutes into the second half.

Leading 45-33, Kori Babcock connected on two three-pointers to help the Falcons take a commanding 54-38 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Falcons never let up in the final 10 minutes, building the lead as high as 22 on a layup by Natia Hagan with 2:11 left before the Swedes scored the last four points to create the final 18-point margin.

Garner led the Falcons with 22 points along with a season-high tying 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. In reaching her career-best 15 points, McIver shot 5-of-9 overall from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point distance and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. The Phoenix, Ariz. native also had four rebounds and four dimes. Jackson also corralled 10 boards and blocked three shots for Friends.

The Swedes (4-5, 2-1 KCAC) were paced by a pair of reserves, with R'Manie Pulling scoring a game-high 21 points and Emily Green securing 10 rebounds.

The Falcon defense was stingy throughout, limiting the Swedes to just a 22.5 percent (16-of-71) shooting clip for the game.

"Great defensive team effort," commented Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston on the Falcons' performance defensively. "Going on the road and holding a team to 22.5 percent is a testament to the whole team guarding together and trusting each other. Our offense continues to come together too and the more we trust ball movement the better we get."

Next up, the Falcons will return home and host Ottawa University Saturday evening (Dec. 2) for a 5 pm tip inside the Garvey Center.