The Lowdown: McPherson College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Dec. 14 @ 3:00 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons handed the (RV) Tabor College Bluejays their first conference loss of the season 62-50 with a strong defensive surge in the fourth quarter to improve to 6-5 overall and move into a tie for the fourth spot in the KCAC at 4-2.  Read the full recap at Tabor HERE!  

Taylor Jackson is averaging a double-double of 13.8 points per game and a KCAC-leading 11.8 rebounds this season. Jackson has also swatted a league-leading 1.8 blocks per game.

Lauryn McIver leads the Falcons with 13.9 ppg and 3.0 assists this season, with Kori Babcock (12.9 ppg) and Abigail Barr (12.0 ppg) also averaging double-figure points. Babcock leads the Falcons with 25 threes and Barr is second on the team and third in the KCAC in rebounds (8.5 rpg).

Scouting the Bulldogs: The McPherson College Bulldogs are 0-12 on the season and have lost all six KCAC games this season.

Gillian Rodgers is scoring a team-high 9.3 ppg for the Bulldogs and Kennedy Smith adds 8.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.8 rpg.

The Series: The Falcons have won five straight in the series and are 33-9 vs. the Bulldogs since 2005, with a 19-3 record in Wichita during that stretch.             

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"One of the toughest things to do in sports is to leave a big win behind and refocus to play an opponent who is struggling. That's our challenge on Saturday. McPherson has some talented players who have just had a hard time sustaining runs. We want to continue the improvement we've shown this week and build momentum as we go into break. Hopefully we'll continue to get some kids healthy and find a little consistency in our rotations."

She's so defensive: Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' modern-era blocks leader with 297 career swats and is at it again this season, ranking first in the KCAC in both rebounds (11.8 rpg) and blocks (1.8 bpg).

Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 6-2 when outshooting the opposition but have lost all three games that the opponent holds a higher shooting percentage.

Boarding School: The Falcons have controlled the glass this season, outrebounding the opposition in nine of 11 games thus far and nine of 10 games when Taylor Jackson plays.

SCHEELS: We are proud to have Scheels as a sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season!  Click HERE for more info on the Scheels store in Wichita.

Falcons by the Numbers

Overall record: 6-5

KCAC: 4-2

Home: 2-2

Road: 3-3

Neutral: 1-0

When scoring:                                         

Under 50 points: 1-1

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 3-4

70-79 points: 0-0

80-89 points: 2-0

90+ points: 0-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 1-0

50-59 points: 3-1

60-69 points: 0-1

70-79 points: 1-3

80-89 points: 1-0

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 4-2

When trailing at halftime: 1-3

When tied at halftime: 1-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 0-0

When committing more turnovers: 5-3

When turnovers are even: 1-2

When leading in field-goal percentage: 6-2

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-3

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 3-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-4

When leading in rebounding: 6-3

When trailing in rebounding: 0-2

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 3-2

When trailing in assists: 2-2

When assists are even: 1-1

In OT: 1-0

The Coaches:

Dean Jaderston is in his sixth 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. Their consistency and competitiveness have led to a 62-31 record over the past three years, including a trip to the KCAC tournament championship game in 2023.

Jaderston brought a wealth of experience to Friends University, having coached for over 30 years (24 years in college and 13 years in high school). On December 13, 2022 he recorded his 300th career collegiate win 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. In 2024 he was inducted into the Crown College Athletic Hall of Fame.

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.

Jaderston and his wife Julie have been married for 37 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 three married sons and eight grandchildren.

Josh Nichols is in his seventh season as head coach at McPherson College after a three-year stint in the same position at Bacone College.  Nichols coached the 2020-21 KCAC Player of the Year Brittany Roberts and in the 2017-18 season, he guided the Bulldogs to their first winning record since the 2010 campaign.

Nichols led Bacone to 36 wins during his tenure and three SAC tournament appearances. Before taking over at Bacone, Nichols was the assistant coach for five seasons at Iowa Wesleyan University.    

Up Next: The Falcons will host (RV) Columbia College (Mo.) Tuesday evening (Dec. 17) at 5 pm before taking time off for the Christmas Break.