WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons were tripped up 65-62 to the Bethany College Swedes today (Feb. 22) in the regular season finale inside the Garvey Center. The loss pushes the Falcons into a tie for the fourth spot with Bethel College at 15-7 in the KCAC. Bethel owns the tiebreak, so the Falcons will be the fifth seed in the upcoming KCAC postseason tournament and play at Bethel Thursday night (Feb. 27).
Below are the five main takeaways from the Falcons' loss today vs. Bethany:
Wild Final Sequence: The Swedes took the lead for good on a score by Colbi Rignell with 1:40 left, but the game was in doubt until the final seconds. Two free throws by Kyla Frenchers cut a four-point deficit in half for the Falcons and a turnover by Jaden Newfarmer gave Friends possession with a chance to tie or regain the lead with eight seconds left. The shenanigans were just beginning though, as Ashlyn Ryall threw an inbounds pass to Janae Black-Harmon, who immediately traveled to give the ball back to the Falcons. Abigail Barr then drew a foul and headed to the charity stripe with an opportunity to tie the score but split a pair of free throws to leave Bethany ahead 63-62. Newfarmer then made both free throws for the Swedes and a beyond halfcourt heave from Frenchers fell short as time expired.
Third Quarter Turnaround: The Falcons struggled offensively in the first half, missing all of eight of their three-point attempts and trailing 32-29 at the break. That changed quickly in the third period, as Kori Babcock hit the Falcons' first three-point attempt of the second half to give Friends its first lead since late in the first quarter. A three-point play by Lauryn McIver continued the momentum and capped an 11-0 run to put the Falcons up eight. Although Bethany answered with a 12-4 spurt to tie the score late in the period, consecutive buckets by McIver gave the Falcons a 48-44 lead heading into the fourth.
Rebounding Deficit: The Falcons were outrebounded 42-39, and coming into today's game that was a bad omen for success. Friends had lost five of six games when being outrebounded, and that number falls to 1-6 with today's result.
Assists Advantage: The Swedes enjoyed a huge 19-7 edge in assists, led by seven dimes from Emily Green and five helpers from Newfarmer.
Senior Day Performances: Three of the Falcons' four leading scorers in the 2024-25 season all played their final regular season home game today and all made a significant contribution. Taylor Jackson had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, Lauryn McIver also scored 15 points and Kori Babcock had 13. Jackson is also the Falcons' all-time modern-era leader in blocks (352) and rebounds (1,332).
Up Next: The Falcons and Threshers split the regular season series, but Bethel gains the tiebreaker due to its regular season win over KCAC leader Kansas Wesleyan University. So the Falcons are the fifth seed and will play in North Newton, Kan. against the fourth-seeded Threshers Thursday night (Feb. 27) at 7 pm in the conference tournament quarterfinal round.
Falcons' Top Performers
Taylor Jackson – 15 points, 10 rebounds
Lauryn McIver – 15 points
Kori Babock – 13 points
Abigail Barr – 10 points
Swedes' Top Performers
Janae Black-Harmon – 14 points, nine rebounds
Kisa Unruh – 11 points
Celina Eisenhardt – 10 points
Jaden Newfarmer – 11 rebounds, five assists
Emily Green – seven assists
