The Lowdown: Friends University at Ottawa University

KCAC "Road to Hartman Game of the Week"

Location: Ottawa, Kan.

When: Wednesday, Feb. 7 @ 6 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons extended their longest winning streak in six years to nine games with a 79-72 victory over the Bethany College Swedes Saturday evening (Feb. 3) inside the Garvey Center. The nine straight wins is the most for the Falcons since winning 15 in a row during the 2017-18 season. Friends is now 17-5 overall on the season and remain third in the KCAC with a 14-2 conference mark. Read the full game recap HERE!

The trio of Rayland Garner, Taylor Jackson and Lauryn McIver are the Falcons' backbone this season, with Garner standing second in the KCAC in scoring (17.6 ppg) and Jackson topping the league in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and blocks (2.7 bpg) along with 14.0 ppg. Jackson's blocks per game are also second in the NAIA and McIver is now tops in the KCAC with 4.8 assists per game.  

The Falcons have been solid defensively, holding the opposition to just a 34.0 field-goal percentage overall and a 27.8 percent clip from the perimeter.  

Scouting the Braves: After losing two straight games, the Ottawa University Braves have now won their past two outings to improve to 13-9 overall and 8-8 in the KCAC.

Kennedy Bankett leads Ottawa and is third in the KCAC with 14.9 points per game, while ranking first in the league in both field-goal percentage (55.6) and three-point percentage (47.2). Bankett is also tied with Jayla Johnson in assists (1.5 apg), with Abby Dietsche pacing the Braves and ranking fifth in the league in rebounding (7.2 rpg) despite missing eight of Ottawa's last nine games.  

The Series: The Falcons are now 31-13 vs. the Braves since 2004 after winning the first matchup 77-61 in Wichita. The Falcons are also 11-10 in Ottawa during that stretch. Each team won at home during the regular season last year, but Friends bested Ottawa on the road in the KCAC semifinal round to advance to the conference championship game      

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"Ottawa is a dangerous team with a lot of skilled players. They play at a quick pace and we have to be ready to defend all over the court. They also crash the boards hard, so rebounding will be critical. Our on-ball defense will be one of the big keys to slowing them down. At the offensive end, we continue to focus on valuing every possession.  Should be a great KCAC matchup!"

Scoring Frenzy: Two of the top three scorers in the KCAC will be on display when the Falcons play at Ottawa tonight.  Rayland Garner is second in the conference with 17.6 ppg, followed by the Braves' Kennedy Bankett with 14.9 ppg.

Just Take Me Half the Way: Being on top at halftime has been a good indicator of success for the Falcons this season, as they've won all 14 games they've carried a lead into the locker room. But when trailing at the half, the Falcons are just 3-5.

Lending a Helping Hand: Friends University sophomore guard Lauryn McIver has made an immediate impact in her first season with the program, particularly distributing the ball. McIver tied a modern-era single-game record with 11 assists in the Falcons' 79-69 victory at Evangel University (Jan. 24) and now leads the KCAC with 4.8 assists per game on the season.

70 is a Serious Number: The Falcons have won 16 of 17 games when limiting the opposition to below the 70-point mark, but are 1-4 when allowing at least 70 points. Conversely, the Falcons are a perfect 16-0 when scoring at least 70 points themselves, but have lost five of six games when failing to reach the 70-point mark.

Make or Miss League: Sometimes basketball can be broken down in its most simplistic terms: The team that shoots the ball better wins the majority of the time.  That has proven to be true thus far for the Falcons, as they're 16-1 when leading in field-goal percentage, but have lost four of five games the opposition has shot better from the field.

Sharing is Caring: The Falcons have won all 12 games when leading in assists, but are just 4-5 when the opposition records more helpers.  Friends won the only game that the assist count was even.

Block Parties: Taylor Jackson has been a major deterrent for the Falcons inside since joining the program for the 2021-22 season. Jackson has collected 14 KCAC Defensive Player of the Week awards for her career and has won five this year, including four of the last six weekly nods.  The Houston, Texas native is the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks with 263 swats for her career.

Sponsor Alerts: Friends University Athletics is excited to have Home2 Suites by Hilton as an official athletic sponsor this season! For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit their official webpage.

Falcons by the Numbers

Overall record: 17-5

KCAC: 14-2

Home: 10-2

Road: 7-3

Neutral: 0-0

When scoring:                                         

Under 50 points: 0-2

50-59 points: 0-3

60-69 points: 1-0

70-79 points: 10-0

80-89 points: 4-0

90+ points: 2-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 4-0

50-59 points: 5-1

60-69 points: 7-0

70-79 points: 1-3

80-89 points: 0-1

90+ points: 0-0

When leading at halftime: 14-0

When trailing at halftime: 3-5

When tied at halftime: 0-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 8-1

When committing more turnovers: 6-4

When turnovers are even: 3-0

When leading in field-goal percentage: 16-1

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-4

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 12-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-4

When leading in rebounding: 14-2

When trailing in rebounding: 3-3

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 12-0

When trailing in assists: 4-5

When assists are even: 1-0

In OT: 0-0

The Coaches:

Dean Jaderston is in his fifth 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.  Last year the team finished 17-14, catching fire at the end of the season, making it all the way to the KCAC tournament championship game at Hartman Arena.

Jaderston brings a wealth of experience to Friends University, with over 30 years of coaching high school and college basketball (13 years high school and 23 years at the college level). Last season he recorded his 300th career collegiate win on December 13th 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.

Jaderston and his wife Julie have been married for 34 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 3 married sons and 7 grandchildren.

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.

Hunter Bondurant is in his first season as head coach of the Ottawa University women's basketball program.

Last season, Bondurant was an assistant coach for Ottawa, helping the Braves win 18 games, the programs most since the 2016-17 campaign.

Prior to joining the Ottawa women's basketball staff, Bondurant had a familiarity on campus after serving as the Assistant Recruiting Coordinator and Director of Social Media for the Braves' men's basketball team for two years.

Before that, Bondurant spent the 2019-20 season as the head coach for the Central High School girls' varsity basketball team in Allentown, Fla. 

Bondurant also has experience working with the Auburn University men's basketball program from 2010-12 and played collegiately at Millsaps College.    

Up Next: The Falcons will host 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!