The Lowdown: Oklahoma Wesleyan University at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Saturday, Jan. 11 @ 3:00 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons surged into second place in the KCAC with a 78-64 victory over Sterling College Wednesday evening (Jan. 8). The Falcons are now a season-high three games over .500 at 9-6 and are 7-2 in the KCAC.  Read the full recap vs. Sterling HERE!  

Lauryn McIver is tops on the Falcons in both scoring (14.1 ppg) and assists (3.7 apg), with Taylor Jackson averaging a double-double of 13.3 ppg and a KCAC-leading 12.0 rebounds this season along with a league-leading 1.9 blocks per game.

Abigail Barr (12.2 ppg) and Kori Babcock (12.1 ppg) are also averaging double-figure points, with Babcock leading the Falcons with 36 threes and Barr ranking second on the team and fourth in the KCAC in rebounds (8.3 rpg).

Scouting the Eagles: The Oklahoma Wesleyan University Eagles won 73-59 over the University of Saint Mary Spires Wednesday to improve to 5-8 overall and 3-5 in the KCAC.

Haley Meely leads OKWU and is second in the KCAC in scoring with 17.3 ppg while serving as the Eagles' top facilitator with 4.4 assists. Zariah Tillman is second on the team at 12.8 ppg, while Rashaan Smith is averaging 11.1 ppg and leads the Eagles with 6.9 rebounds per game.

The Series: The Falcons have won the last four meetings over the Eagles, including an 82-81 double-overtime thriller in the first matchup this season in Bartlesville, Okla.  Friends is 11-4 vs. OKWU in Wichita and 20-11 overall since 2008.               

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"Oklahoma Wesleyan may be the hottest team in the KCAC right now. They have both a strong inside game and outside game. The last time we played we had to hit two threes to send it to overtime and Lauryn had to make a buzzer beater for a one-point win!  It should be another great game!"

Seeing Red: Saturday's home game vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan has been dubbed a "Red Out", with fans encouraged to wear red to help create a vibrant atmosphere for the Falcons! There will also be drawings for prizes such as Taco Shop gift cards!

Statistical Oddity: Wednesday evening's 78-64 victory over the Sterling College Warriors marked the first time the Falcons had scored in the 70's all season. Last year, the Falcons had 12 such occurrences, winning all 12 times.

Offensive Breakout: Lauryn McIver received her first career KCAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week honor after pouring in a career-high 25 points and producing seven rebounds and five assists in the Falcons' 88-78 victory at Ottawa last Saturday. McIver continued her solid play with a career-high tying 11 assists in the Falcons' 78-64 victory over Sterling on Wednesday (Jan. 8). Read the full release HERE!

She's so defensive: Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' modern-era blocks leader with 306 career swats and is at it again this season, ranking first in the KCAC in both blocks (1.9 bpg) and rebounds (12.0 rpg).

Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 9-2 when outshooting the opposition but have lost all four games that the opponent holds a higher shooting percentage.

Boarding School: The Falcons have controlled the glass this season, outrebounding the opposition in 12 of 15 games thus far, including 12 of 14 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: 9-6

KCAC: 7-2

Home: 4-3

Road: 4-3

Neutral: 1-0

When scoring:                                         

Under 50 points: 1-2

50-59 points: 0-0

60-69 points: 3-4

70-79 points: 1-0

80-89 points: 4-0

90+ points: 0-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 1-0

50-59 points: 4-2

60-69 points: 1-1

70-79 points: 2-3

80-89 points: 1-0

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 7-2

When trailing at halftime: 1-4

When tied at halftime: 1-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 1-1

When committing more turnovers: 7-3

When turnovers are even: 1-2

When leading in field-goal percentage: 9-2

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-4

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 6-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-5

When leading in rebounding: 9-3

When trailing in rebounding: 0-3

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 6-2

When trailing in assists: 2-3

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.

Heidi Messer is in her third season as head coach of the Oklahoma Wesleyan University women's basketball program.

Messer came to OKWU after a five-year stint as assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach at Northeastern Oklahoma State University. Before joining NSU, Messer was also an assistant coach at Manchester University from 2012-14 following a two-year appointment as a graduate assistant coach at Georgetown College (Ky.). In her final season at Georgetown, Messer helped the team advance to the NAIA Fab Four.

Up Next: The Falcons will conclude their three-game homestand Wednesday evening (Jan. 15) vs. Southwestern for a 6 pm tip-off inside the Garvey Center.