The Lowdown: No. 23 College of the Ozarks at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Friday, Dec. 15 @ 6 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons ran their record to 5-1 in the KCAC and 7-3 overall with an 88-45 thumping of the Southwestern College Lady Builders last Saturday (Dec. 9) inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons used a 24-0 run between the first and second quarter to take a commanding lead and were never threatened the rest of the way.

The duo of Rayland Garner and Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' backbone this season, with Garner standing second in the KCAC in scoring (16.7 ppg) and Jackson topping the league in rebounding (11.9 rpg) along with ranking fourth in scoring (13.7 ppg) and second in blocks (2.2 bpg). Kori Babcock is also averaging double-figure points (10.1 ppg) while Lauryn McIver is tied for third in the conference with 3.3 assists per game.

The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding the opposition to just a 34.2 field-goal percentage overall and a 28.3 percent clip from the perimeter.  

Scouting the Lady Bobcats: The College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats are now ranked No. 23 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' poll and have won three straight to come in at 9-3 overall. The Lady Bobcats' last loss came on Dec. 1 at now No. 13-ranked Dakota State University.

Kayley Frank powers College of the Ozarks with a team-leading 20.3 ppg, with Susanna Moran scoring 17.9 ppg and ranking second in the NAIA with a robust 15.2 rebounds per game. Blythe Benefield has recorded a team-high 3.5 assists per game this season for the Lady Bobcats.  

The Series: College of the Ozarks has won all five meetings on record over Friends, including last season's 64-47 win in Point Lookout, Mo. The two teams have met once in Wichita, with the Lady Bobcats coming out on top 79-72 on Nov. 11, 2021.

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"College of the Ozarks will be a good test for us going into the break. They are such a skilled offensive team with one of the best guards in the nation, so we'll have to guard well and put up some points ourselves. It's been fun seeing our team improve each week this season, and it should be a great game to finish the semester."

Rebounding Prowess: Two of the nation's top rebounders will be on display, as the Lady Bobcats' Susanna Moran is second in the NAIA in rebounding with 15.2 rpg and Taylor Jackson is eighth with 11.9 rpg.

Make or Miss League: Sometimes basketball can be broken down in its most simplistic terms: The team that shoots the ball better wins the majority of the time.  That's proven to be true thus far for the Friends University Falcons, as they're a perfect 7-0 when leading in field-goal percentage, but have lost all three times the opposing team has shot better from the field.

Sharing is Caring: The Falcons have won all six games when leading in assists, but are just 1-3 when the opposition records more helpers.  

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 with 226 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: 7-3

KCAC: 5-1

Home: 3-0

Road: 4-3

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                          

Under 50 points: 0-2

50-59 points: 0-1

60-69 points: 1-0

70-79 points: 3-0

80-89 points: 2-0

90+ points:  1-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 3-0

50-59 points: 1-0

60-69 points: 3-0

70-79 points: 0-2

80-89 points: 0-1

90+ points: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 6-0

When trailing at halftime: 1-3

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 4-0

When committing more turnovers: 2-3

When turnovers are even: 1-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 7-0

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-3

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 4-0

When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-3

When leading in rebounding: 6-1

When trailing in rebounding: 1-2

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 6-0

When trailing in assists: 1-3

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.

Becky Mullis is in her 11^th season as head coach of the College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats. Mullis has guided the Lady Bobcats to at least 20 wins in each season of her tenure, including 26 wins and an NCCAA Division I National Championship last year to earn NCCAA National Coach of the Year honors.

Collegiately, Mullis played two seasons for College of the Ozarks after transferring from John Brown University.

Up Next: Following the Christmas Break, the Falcons will host Missouri Valley College on Dec. 30 for a 3 pm tip-off inside the Garvey Center.