WICHITA, Kan. The Friends University Falcons secured a 69-59 victory over the York University Panthers  this evening (Nov. 23) inside the Garvey Center. The Falcons are now 5-3 overall and remain perfect in the KCAC with a 3-0 league mark. 

Kori Babcock (seven points) and Lauryn McIver (six points) sparked the Falcons to an early 14-3 lead and Friends extended its lead to 21-6 by the end of the first quarter.

A three-pointer by Ashlyn Ryall pushed the lead to 20 before threes by Alyssa Civitak helped the Panthers close within 34-22 at the break. 

In the third quarter, Friends managed to maintain their lead over York with a balanced offensive attack, highlighted by a notable scoring spree midway through the quarter. Babcock's 3-pointer at 12:16 extended Friends' lead to 39-26, setting the tone for the period. Taylor Jackson contributed significantly, scoring multiple times to help the Falcons take a 50-37 lead heading to the fourth. 

After a three-pointer by Britney Schroer trimmed the lead to single-digits at 51-42, Friends regained control with key contributions from Abigail Barr and KK Peeler to fuel a 13-2 burst to push the lead to 20 again at 64-44. York didn't go quietly as Destiny Shepherd and Civitak managed to hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead in half to 65-55. 

But buckets by Jadyn Glasgow and then Babcock at the 1:44 mark finished off the victory for the Falcons. 

Babcock was the top scorer for Friends with 19 points, including eight field goals and two steals. Jackson made a significant impact with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, shooting 5-for-10 from the field. 

Schroer paced the Panthers with 13 points, with Olivia Adams recording 12 boards and Pasiko Hvich producing a game-high six assists. 

The Falcons outrebounded the Panthers 36-29 and limited York to just a 32.4 percent (23-of-71) clip for the game.  

Following the Thanksgiving Break, the Falcons will play an exhibition game at NCAA D-II Northwestern Oklahoma State University Saturday (Nov. 30) at 1 pm in Alva, Okla. The next KCAC game for the Falcons will be Dec. 4 at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan.