The Lowdown: Kansas Wesleyan University at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Dec. 7 @ 3:00 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons suffered their first KCAC loss in a 73-69 setback at Bethel College Wednesday evening (Dec. 4) in North Newton, Kan. The Falcons are now 5-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Read the full recap at Bethel HERE!
Taylor Jackson is averaging a double-double of 13.8 points per game and a KCAC-leading 11.9 rebounds this season. Jackson has also swatted a league-leading 1.8 blocks per game.
The Falcons are also getting double-figure points from Kori Babock (13.6 ppg), Lauryn McIver (13.4 ppg) and Abigail Barr (11.9 ppg), with McIver recording a team-high 3.3 assists and Barr ranking fourth in the KCAC in both rebounds (8.7 rpg) and field-goal percentage (55.8).
Scouting the Coyotes: The Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes come in riding a six-game winning streak and are 8-2 overall and a perfect 4-0 in the KCAC.
LaMyah Ricks is tops on KWU in both scoring (13.3 ppg) and assists this season (3.1 apg), while Jill Stephens is scoring 11.7 ppg and is fifth in the KCAC in three-point percentage (45.0). Jocelyn Hall has pulled down a team-high 5.4 rebounds for the Coyotes.
The Series: The Falcons swept both meetings against the Coyotes last season to snap a three-game losing skid in the series. Friends is 24-19 overall vs. KWU and 13-10 in Wichita since 2004.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston
"The parity in the KCAC is starting to show. Every game will be a battle. How we bounce back from the Bethel game will tell a lot about our resilience and determination. We'll see who can step up as we work through some injuries. We also have to start taking care of the basketball. We are simply giving too many possessions away. Kansas Wesleyan has the experience to take advantage of those turnovers. At the end of the day, the game will probably come down to free throws and turnovers."
She's so defensive: Taylor is the Falcons' modern-era blocks leader with 295 career swats and is at it again this season, ranking first in the KCAC in both rebounds (11.9 rpg) and blocks (1.8 bpg).
Boarding School: The Falcons have controlled the glass this season, outrebounding the opposition in eight of nine games thus far.
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: 5-4
KCAC: 3-1
Home: 2-1
Road: 2-3
Neutral: 1-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 1-1
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 2-3
70-79 points: 0-0
80-89 points: 2-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 1-0
50-59 points: 2-1
60-69 points: 0-1
70-79 points: 1-2
80-89 points: 1-0
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 3-1
When trailing at halftime: 1-3
When tied at halftime: 1-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 0-0
When committing more turnovers: 4-3
When turnovers are even: 1-1
When leading in field-goal percentage: 5-2
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-2
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 2-0
When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-4
When leading in rebounding: 5-3
When trailing in rebounding: 0-1
When rebounding is even: 0-0
When leading in assists: 3-2
When trailing in assists: 1-1
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.
Ryan Showman is in his 13th season as head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan University women's basketball program and is now the program's all-time winningest coach.
In the 2019-20 campaign, 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 Tabor College Wednesday evening (Dec. 11) for a 6 pm tipoff in Hillsboro, Kan.
