WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons ended a 12-game losing skid to the Sterling College Warriors in emphatic fashion, scoring a season-high 34 points in the fourth quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a 79-75 victory in KCAC action tonight (Jan. 13) inside the Garvey Center.
The win puts the Falcons at 11-5 overall and 8-2 in the KCAC, one game behind Tabor College for second and two games shy of the University of Saint Mary for the top spot.
Facing a 50-45 deficit heading to the final period, the Falcons got going as a three by Trinity Johnson capped seven straight points to begin the quarter and put Friends on top by two.
After the Warriors pulled even, four straight points from Rayland Garner and a three-point play by Taylor Jackson suddenly had the Falcons in front by seven with 6:15 remaining.
The Falcons pushed the lead as high as eight and maintained control most of the way, but the Warriors didn't go away quietly and twice clawed within three before a three-pointer from Alissa Heskamp made it a two-point game with two seconds left.
Kassie Kinniburgh then stepped up and put the away with two free throws to give the Falcons their first win over the Warriors since the 2017-18 season.
"Tonight was a hard-fought battle against a well-prepared team," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "They threw a lot of defensive looks at us and we had to adjust. I thought we made some tough plays and got some big stops down the stretch. It was a great team win to continue to build on our winning streak."
The first three quarters of action featured nine ties and was tightly contested throughout, with the five point lead Sterling carried into the fourth quarter the biggest for either team to that point.
Friends led by four at the end of the first period, but trailed by four late in the second until a three by Kori Babock with three seconds left cut the Sterling lead to 30-29 at the break.
Garner led the Falcons with a stat line of 21 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Johnson finished with a career-high 18 points and Lauryn McIver added 13 points and a career-high tying seven assists. Taylor Jackson added 11 points and seven blocks, including five swats in the first half.
The Warriors (7-9, 4-6 KCAC) were paced by the duo of Heskamp (25 points, four steals) and Korynn Clason (23 points, eight boards), while Evie Gill recorded a team-leading five assists.
The Falcons was outrebounded 38-36, but managed to holding scoring edges of 26-20 in the paint and 11-7 in second chance points.
Up next, the Falcons will play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University Wednesday evening (Jan. 17) at 6 pm in Bartlesville, Okla.
