York, Neb. – Trailing by six heading to the final period, the Friends University Falcons came through at the right time and outscored the York University Panthers 31-17 in the last 10 minutes to win 79-71 this evening (Feb. 21) in York, Neb.
The Falcons are now 21-6 overall and remain third in the KCAC with an 18-3 league record.
After a jumper by Destiny Shepherd late in the second quarter gave York a one-point lead at the break, the Falcons didn't lead again until a three-pointer by Jadyn Glasgow made it 70-68 with 2:04 left in the game.
That two-point lead quickly ballooned to seven when a three by Kori Babcock and two free throws from Taylor Jackson capped an 11-0 burst that Lauryn McIver ignited with a three-point play.
The Falcons continued to clamp down defensively over the final 1:36 to finish out the victory.
For much of the second half, the Falcons fought to stay in the game, trailing by as much as eight in the third quarter and were still down seven at the 4:40 mark of the fourth period.
Five straight points from Babcock trimmed the deficit to one point and helped put the Falcons in position to make their late surge.
With the lead at two possessions, Rayland Garner hit two free throws with one second left to put the finishing touches on the Falcon win.
"For some reason, York has always played us tough when we travel here," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "They came out energized with nothing to lose and were hitting shots from everywhere while we were sluggish. With about four minutes to go we finally started playing with the energy we needed. Taylor and Ray kept us in the game and then we got some big plays with huge threes from Kori and Jadyn at crunch time that made the difference."
Rayland Garner led the Falcons offensively with 25 points and was a force on the defensive end with a career-high seven steal. Jackson delivered a personal season-high of 24 points along with a game-high 11 rebounds, with Babcock adding 12 points and McIver dishing out five assists.
Britney Schroer and Jess McGrath each scored 13 points to lead the Panthers, while Monique Contreras and Audrey Hernandez scored 11 points apiece. Pasiko Hvichiani led York with four assists on the night.
Friends held a narrow 35-32 edge overall in rebounding and shot a solid 53.2 percent (25-of-47) from the field.
The Falcons will next host Avila University for Senior Day Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) at 1 pm inside the Garvey Center.
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