The Lowdown: Kansas Wesleyan University at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Jan. 27 @ 5 pm

Broadcast

Live Stats

Tickets

Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons won their sixth straight game behind a modern-era record tying 11 assists from Lauryn McIver and all five starters scoring in double-figures. The win moves the Falcons to 14-5 overall and keeps them in the third spot in the KCAC with an 11-2 conference mark. Read the full game recap HERE!

The trio of Rayland Garner, Taylor Jackson and Lauryn McIver are the Falcons' backbone this season, with Garner standing second in the KCAC in scoring (17.8 ppg) and Jackson topping the league in rebounding (11.1 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg) along with scoring 13.8 ppg. Jackson's blocks per game currently ranks second in the NAIA and she is tied for seventh in the nation in rebounding.  McIver is also second in the conference with a team-leading 4.6 assists per game.

The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding the opposition to just a 34.7 field-goal percentage overall and a 28.8 percent clip from the perimeter.  

Scouting the Coyotes: The Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes have won five of their last six games to check in with a 10-9 overall record and an 8-5 mark in the KCAC.

Jill Stephens is leading KWU with 12.0 points per game and five rebounds, followed by 11.0 ppg and a team-high 1.9 assists from LaMyah Ricks.

The Series: The Falcons are 23-19 vs. KWU dating back to the 2004-05 season, but just 3-7 in the last 10 meetings. Friends is also 12-10 vs. KWU at home during that stretch.       

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"Starting the second time around in conference play is always a good test. We're one game out of being tied for first in the conference so you can feel the pressure every game. And there are no surprises anymore. Teams know what our strengths and weaknesses are, and they try and take away our best options. Now what becomes important is the "play after the play". Our players have to compete and take advantage of mismatches and opportunities. What's fun about our team right now is that they are really starting to trust each other at both ends of floor. That is critical as we try and close that final gap over the last 10 regular season games."

Lending a Helping Hand: Friends University sophomore guard Lauryn McIver has made an immediate impact in her first season with the program, particularly distributing the ball. McIver tied a modern-era single-game record with 11 assists in the Falcons' 79-69 victory at Evangel University on Wednesday evening (Jan. 24). For the season, McIver leads the Falcons and is second in the KCAC with 4.6 assists per game.

70 is a Serious Number: The Falcons have won 13 of 14 games when limiting the opposition to below the 70-point mark, but are just 1-4 when allowing at least 70 points. Conversely, the Falcons are a perfect 13-0 when scoring at least 70 points themselves, but have lost five of 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 13-1 when leading in field-goal percentage, but have lost four of five games 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 3-5 when the opposition records more helpers.  Friends won the only game that the assist count was even.

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 three of the last four weekly nods.  The Houston, Texas native is the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks with 254 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: 14-5

KCAC: 11-2

Home: 8-2

Road: 6-3

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                          

Under 50 points: 0-2

50-59 points: 0-3

60-69 points: 1-0

70-79 points: 8-0

80-89 points: 3-0

90+ points:  2-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 3-0

50-59 points: 4-1

60-69 points: 6-0

70-79 points: 1-3

80-89 points: 0-1

90+ points: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 11-0

When trailing at halftime: 3-5

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 6-1

When committing more turnovers: 5-4

When turnovers are even: 3-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 13-1

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-4

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 9-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-4

When leading in rebounding: 11-2

When trailing in rebounding: 3-3

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 10-0

When trailing in assists: 3-5

When assists are even: 1-0

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.

Ryan Showman is in his 12th season as head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University women's basketball program and is now the program's all-time winningest coach. Last season, Showman led the Coyotes to a 19-10 overall record and a third-place finish in the KCAC with a 17-5 conference mark.

In the 2019-20 season, Showman guided the Coyotes to their first outright KCAC regular season championship in school history and was named KCAC Coach of the Year. The conference title resulted in an NAIA National Tournament berth, with KWU winning their opening round game before the tourney was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Up Next: The Falcons will play at McPherson College Wednesday evening (Jan. 31) at 6 pm in McPherson, Kan.