WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons closed out 2023 on a high note with a dominating 86-54 victory over the Missouri Valley College Vikings today (Dec. 30) inside the Garvey Center.
The Falcons got off to a quick start, hitting seven of their first 10 shots to build a 17-6 lead by the 3:50 mark of the first quarter.
Fueling the early surge was 11 points from Kori Babcock and five assists from Lauryn McIver on the first seven made field goals.
Following Babcock's lead, Ellie Munds came on and hit two of her career-high four threes to propel the Falcons to a 25-7 lead at the end of the opening period.
Another three by Munds stretched the lead to 19 at 30-11 and the Falcons settled for a 37-22 lead at the break.
After a score from Kiara Williams began the third quarter for the Vikings, threes from McIver and Trinity Johnson helped give the Falcons their biggest lead to that point of 46-24 at the 7:03 mark.
Jadyn Glasgow then hit from beyond the arc to make it 60-34 and the Falcons carried a commanding 63-39 lead into the final period.
Two more threes from Johnson and a trey by Sadie Hopman expanded the edge to 33 before Natia Hagan scored with 2:15 left to provide the Falcons with their largest lead of the day at 85-50.
Overall, the Falcons knocked down 13 threes, their second highest total of the season.
"I loved the energy of our team, especially in the second half," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "When we moved the ball we got the looks we wanted. We were also able to pick up the intensity on the defensive end which was needed as we get back into conference play on Wednesday."
Babcock finished with a team-leading 14 points for the Falcons (8-4, 5-1 KCAC), while McIver recorded career-best numbers of seven assists and seven rebounds. Rayland Garner scored 12 along with a team-high eight boards and season-high tying four steals, with Munds' 12 points and four threes each representing career-high totals for the Wichita product.
The Falcons' stingy defense didn't allow any Viking to reach double-figure scoring, as Maddie Ferrara paced Missouri Valley with eight points and Noa Fernandez had a team-leading nine rebounds.
Defensively, Friends held the Vikings to just 30.8 percent (20-of-65) from the field and a 26.1 percent (6-of-23) clip from the perimeter.
The New Year will bring new challenges, as the Falcons will next 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!
