Ottawa, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons blistered the Ottawa University Braves with a season-high 35 points in the third quarter to break away for an 87-72 victory and secure their 10th straight win tonight (Feb. 7) in Ottawa, Kan.
The Falcons are now 18-5 on the season and maintain the third spot in the KCAC with a 15-2 conference record.
Rayland Garner scored two of her 24 points at the 7:21 mark of the second quarter to put the Falcons on top for good.
Friends led 36-29 at the break before opening the floodgates with a 35-11 third period.
Leading by six early in the quarter, Garner hit a three to ignite a run of 15 straight points that Taylor Jackson put a bow on with the final six to give the Falcons a 54-33 cushion.
After Tootie Allen scored four straight for the Braves to temporarily halt the spurt, the Falcons put the hammer down as Jadyn Glasgow scored eight points to spark a 17-3 close to the period and create an insurmountable 31-point lead of 71-40 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Falcons then got a three by Ashlyn Ryall to open the fourth for a game-high 34-point lead before coasting to the big win from that point.
"It's always great to get out of Ottawa with a win," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "It's a hard place to play because of the acoustics and their athletes are all able to score. We had a great third quarter, scoring 35 points to break the game wide open."
In addition to her team-leading 24 points, Garner had 10 rebounds and recorded four assists. Jackson (19 points, 13 boards) and Kori Babcock (11 points, 10 rebounds) also produced double-doubles for the Falcons, with Lauryn McIver dishing out a game-high seven assists.
Allen finished with a game-high 28 points along with eight boards for Ottawa (13-10, 8-9 KCAC), while Jayla Johnson had 13 points and six assists.
The Falcons outshot the Braves 46.9 percent to 28.9 percent and held a double-digit edge of 57-47 on the glass.
Now looming for the Falcons is a home game against the KCAC co-leading University of Saint Mary Spires in a high-stakes conference matchup Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10) at 1 pm inside the Garvey Center.
Get your tickets NOW for the Falcons' big KCAC battle Saturday vs. the Spires!
