The Lowdown: Bethel College at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Jan. 20 @ 5 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons overcame an early 15-point deficit to outscore the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Lady Eagles 78-35 during the final 36:30 to come away with a 78-50 victory and move to 12-5 overall and 9-2 in the KCAC. It's the Falcons' best conference start since winning the league with a 20-2 record in the 2017-18 season. Read the full game recap HERE!
The duo of Rayland Garner and Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' backbone this season, with Garner standing second in the KCAC in scoring (17.4 ppg) and Jackson topping the league in rebounding (11.4 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg) while ranking fifth in scoring (13.9 ppg). Jackson's blocks per game currently ranks second in the NAIA and she is sixth in the nation in rebounding. Lauryn McIver is also second in the conference with a team-leading 4.2 assists per game.
The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding the opposition to just a 34.1 field-goal percentage overall and a 28.0 percent clip from the perimeter.
Scouting the Threshers: All six of the Bethel College Thresher wins have come within the KCAC, as the Threshers are 6-11 overall and 6-5 in the conference.
Kendall Locke has been the fuel behind the Bethel offense, registering team-highs in both scoring (13.8 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg). Natalie Richards is second in scoring with 12.3 ppg, while Madyson McKinzie also scores in double-figures with 11.4 ppg along with a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game.
The Series: Friends and Bethel have split the last 10 meetings, but the Falcons have been dominant overall, going 31-11 in the series since the 2004-05 season. The Falcons have also gotten the best of things at home, winning 16 of 21 meetings in Wichita during that span.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston
"As we get into the heart of the conference season our focus is to keep building our momentum all the way to end of the season. Bethel plays at a very high pace, and it will be a good test for us to continue to execute and guard at a higher speed. It will be important to get off to a solid start and then build from there."
Defender of the Paint: Friends University junior forward Taylor Jackson earned her third consecutive KCAC Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday (Jan. 15). It's the fourth honor overall this season and 13th career nod for the Houston, Texas native.
Read the full release HERE!
Plenty of Help to Go Around: The matchup between the Falcons and Threshers will be a fun one for fans of great passing, as the top two distributors in the KCAC will face off. Bethel's Kendall Locke is tops in the league with five assists, followed by the Falcons' Lauryn McIver with 4.2 assists per game.
70 is a Serious Number: The Falcons have won 11 of 12 games when limiting the opposition to below the 70-point mark, but are 1-4 when allowing at least 70 points. Conversely, the Falcons are a perfect 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points themselves, but have lost five of the six games when failing to reach the 70-point mark.
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 has proven to be true thus far for the Falcons, as they're 12-1 when leading in field-goal percentage, but have lost all four times the opposition has shot better from the field.
Sharing is Caring: The Falcons have won all 10 games when leading in assists, but are just 2-5 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 has collected 13 KCAC Defensive Player of the Week awards for her career and has won four this year, including the past three weekly nods. The Houston, Texas native is the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks with 248 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: 12-5
KCAC: 9-2
Home: 7-2
Road: 5-3
Neutral: 0-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-2
50-59 points: 0-3
60-69 points: 1-0
70-79 points: 6-0
80-89 points: 3-0
90+ points: 2-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 3-0
50-59 points: 4-1
60-69 points: 4-0
70-79 points: 1-3
80-89 points: 0-1
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 9-0
When trailing at halftime: 3-5
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 6-1
When committing more turnovers: 4-4
When turnovers are even: 2-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 12-1
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-4
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 8-1
When trailing in three-point percentage: 4-4
When leading in rebounding: 10-2
When trailing in rebounding: 2-3
When rebounding is even: 0-0
When leading in assists: 10-0
When trailing in assists: 2-5
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.
Rocky Lamar is currently the interim head coach of the Bethel College women's basketball program.
Up Next: The Falcons will play at KCAC newcomer Evangel University Wednesday evening (Jan. 24) at 5:30 pm in Springfield, Mo.
