The Lowdown: Missouri Valley College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Dec. 30 @ 3 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are now 7-4 on the season following a 72-59 setback to No. 23-ranked College of the Ozarks on Dec. 15 prior to the Christmas Break. The Falcons carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter over the nationally ranked Lady Bobcats, but a three by Abbey Linville began a 9-0 run to open the final period and put College of+ the Ozarks up 54-46.

The duo of Rayland Garner and Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' backbone this season, with Garner standing second in the KCAC in scoring (16.6 ppg) and Jackson topping the league in rebounding (11.6 rpg) and ranking second in blocks (2.1 bpg) while scoring 12.9 ppg. Kori Babcock is also averaging double-figure points (10.5 ppg) and Lauryn McIver is third in the conference with 3.4 assists per game.

The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding the opposition to just a 35.1 field-goal percentage overall and a 29.6 percent clip from the perimeter.  

Scouting the Vikings: The Missouri Valley College Vikings started the year with eight wins in their first 10 games, but fell 81-59 to Benedictine College in their most recent outing to come in at 8-3 overall for the 2023-24 campaign.

Giavanna Moore leads the Viking offense with 19.9 ppg and 3.3 assists per game, with Ricarda Schott averaging 15.3 ppg. Noa Fernandez has pulled down a team-leading 7.6 rebounds for Missouri Valley.

The Series: Friends and Missouri Valley have split the six meetings on record, with the Falcons winning 67-60 in the last matchup on Nov. 6, 2021 in Marshall, Mo. But the Falcons dropped the only meeting in Wichita during that stretch, 63-60 in 2019.

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"It's good to get back to playing again. MO Valley is a quick and athletic team who has had some big wins this year. It will be a good game to get our feet under us before we start the conference grind on Wednesday next week."

Defensive Honor: Friends University junior forward Taylor Jackson added to her impressive defensive accolades with her 11^th career KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Dec. 18. Jackson tallied six defensive rebounds, two steals and one block as the Falcons carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter before the nationally ranked College of the Ozarks Lady Bobcats pulled it out in the final period (Dec. 15).

Read the full release HERE!

70 is a Serious Number: The Falcons have won all seven games when limiting the opposition to below the 70-point mark, but have come up short all four times the opposing team scores at least 70 points.

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 four 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 1-4 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 11 for her career after winning two awards this year. The Houston, Texas native is the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks with 227 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: 7-4

KCAC: 5-1

Home: 4-1

Road: 3-3

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                          

Under 50 points: 0-2

50-59 points: 0-2

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: 0-3

80-89 points: 0-1

90+ points: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 6-0

When trailing at halftime: 1-4

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 4-1

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: 0-4

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 4-0

When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-4

When leading in rebounding: 6-1

When trailing in rebounding: 1-3

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 6-0

When trailing in assists: 1-4

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.

Ben Lister is in his third season as head coach of the Missouri Valley College women's basketball program. In his first two seasons, Lister led the Vikings to consecutive winning seasons for the first time in more than 25 years.

Prior to coming to MVC, Lister was the head coach at Baker University for seven seasons, leading the team to their first regular season championship in 31 years and was a three-time Heart Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. He also guided the program to it's first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Tournament and four straight appearances overall, including a runner-up showing in 2016.

Up Next: The Falcons will host KCAC co-leader Tabor College in a massive conference matchup Wednesday evening (Jan. 3) at 6 pm inside the Garvey Center.

Don't miss the Falcons' showdown vs. Tabor College Wednesday night (Jan. 3), secure your seats HERE!