The Lowdown: Sterling College at Friends University

Location: Garvey Center

When: Wednesday, Jan. 8 @ 6:00 pm

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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons ran their record to 8-6 overall and moved into a tie for third place in the KCAC at 6-2 with an 88-78 road victory at the Ottawa University Braves last Saturday (Jan. 4).  Read the full recap at Ottawa HERE!  

Following a career-high 25-point output in the Falcons' win at Ottawa, Lauryn McIver now leads the team in both scoring (14.4 ppg) and assists (3.1 apg). Taylor Jackson is averaging a double-double of 13.3 ppg and a KCAC-leading 11.8 rebounds this season along with a league-leading 1.7 blocks per game.

Kori Babcock (12.3 ppg) and Abigail Barr (12.1 ppg) are also averaging double-figure points, with Babcock leading the Falcons with 33 threes and Barr ranking second on the team and third in the KCAC in rebounds (8.6 rpg).

Scouting the Warriors: The Sterling College Warriors are coming off a 92-80 loss at the University of Saint Mary last Friday (Jan. 3) and are now 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the KCAC.

The Warriors sport the KCAC's leading scorer in Korynn Clason at 21.6 ppg and Alissa Heskamp is second on the team in scoring with 13.9 ppg. McKenna Vogl is averaging 12.1 ppg and has pulled down a team-leading 6.1 rebounds, while Kali Briar has recorded a team-leading four assists per game.

The Series: The Falcons won last season's meeting 79-75 at home to snap a 12-game losing streak in the series vs. the Warriors. Friends is 13-33 overall against Sterling since 2004 and 9-13 in Wichita during that stretch.               

Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston 

"It's good to get back to conference play. Sterling is maybe the most dangerous offensive team in the conference right now. We have to stop their transition game and force their secondary scorers to take more shots. It should be an exciting up and down game!"

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. Read the full release HERE!

She's so defensive: Taylor Jackson is the Falcons' modern-era blocks leader with 301 career swats and is at it again this season, ranking first in the KCAC in both rebounds (11.8 rpg) and blocks (1.7 bpg).

Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 8-2 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 11 of 14 games thus far, including 11 of 13 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: 8-6

KCAC: 6-2

Home: 3-3

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: 0-0

80-89 points: 4-0

90+ points: 0-0

When allowing:

Under 50 points: 1-0

50-59 points: 4-2

60-69 points: 0-1

70-79 points: 2-3

80-89 points: 1-0

90+ points: 0-0 

When leading at halftime: 6-2

When trailing at halftime: 1-4

When tied at halftime: 1-0

When committing fewer turnovers: 1-1

When committing more turnovers: 6-3

When turnovers are even: 1-2

When leading in field-goal percentage: 8-2

When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-4

When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0

When leading in three-point percentage: 5-1

When trailing in three-point percentage: 3-5

When leading in rebounding: 8-3

When trailing in rebounding: 0-3

When rebounding is even: 0-0

When leading in assists: 5-2

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.

K.C. Bassett is in her 11th season as head coach of the Sterling College Warriors. Bassett has guided the Warriors to three of the last four KCAC regular season championships and five NAIA National Tournament berths in the past six seasons.

Before taking the reins of the program, Bassett served seven years as an assistant coach at Sterling. She was also a four-year starter for the Warriors and finished her playing career as the program's all-time leader in assists.

Up Next: The Falcons will play the middle game of their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon (Jan. 11) at 3 pm vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan University.