The Lowdown: Ottawa University at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Feb. 8 @ 1:00 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons took over sole possession of the second spot in the KCAC with a commanding wire-to-wire victory over Tabor College Wednesday evening (Feb. 5). The Falcons are now 15-8 overall and 13-4 in the conference, two games behind front-runner Kansas Wesleyan University. Read the full vs. Tabor HERE!
Lauryn McIver is tops on the Falcons and fifth in the KCAC in scoring (15.7 ppg) while also ranking fifth in the league in assists (3.2 apg). Taylor Jackson is averaging a double-double of 14.3 ppg along with leading the league in both rebounds (12.4 rpg) and blocks (2.3 bpg).
Abigail Barr (12.5 ppg) and Kori Babcock (10.9 ppg) are also averaging double-figure points, with Babcock leading the Falcons with 50 three-pointers and Barr ranking second on the team in rebounds (7.8 rpg) and third in the KCAC in field-goal percentage (56.4).
Scouting the Braves: The Ottawa University Braves are 8-15 overall and 5-11 in the KCAC but have won their last two games over McPherson College and at Avila University.
Kennedy Bankett leads the Braves in scoring with 14.0 ppg, followed by Nora Ford (13.0 ppg), Dominique Schutte (12.5 ppg) and Abbie Sextro (11.0 ppg) in double-figure scoring. Sextro (6.4 rpg) is first on the Braves in rebounding, with Janiyah Hendricks (2.7 apg) leading the team in assists.
The Series: The Falcons have won the past four meetings over the Braves and are 33-13 in the series since the 2004-05 season. Friends has also won 20 of 23 meetings against Ottawa in Wichita over that span.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston:
"Ottawa has an athletic team with a lot of shooters and scorers. We have to guard all over the court, both 1-on-1 and as a team. We also must continue to find our rhythm at the offensive end. Now it's all about building momentum toward the post-season."
Always defensive: Taylor Jackson has collected 17 career KCAC Women's Basketball Player of the Week awards and is the Falcons' modern-era blocks leader with 340 career swats and is at it again this season, ranking first in the KCAC in both blocks (2.3 bpg) and rebounds (12.4 rpg).
Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 14-2 when outshooting the opposition but are 1-6 when the opponent holds a higher shooting percentage.
Boarding School: The Falcons have a record of 14-3 when leading in rebounding but have lost all five games when the opposition controls the boards. Friends also won the only game when the rebounds were even.
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.
Kansas Army National Guard: We are thrilled to have the Kansas Army National Guard on board with us this year as an official sponsor! Click HERE to visit their website.
Falcons by the Numbers
Overall record: 15-8
KCAC: 13-4
Home: 9-3
Road: 5-5
Neutral: 1-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 1-2
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 4-6
70-79 points: 3-0
80-89 points: 7-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 2-0
50-59 points: 6-2
60-69 points: 3-2
70-79 points: 3-4
80-89 points: 1-0
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 12-3
When trailing at halftime: 2-5
When tied at halftime: 1-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 2-2
When committing more turnovers: 12-3
When turnovers are even: 1-3
When leading in field-goal percentage: 14-2
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-6
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 9-1
When trailing in three-point percentage: 6-7
When leading in rebounding: 14-3
When trailing in rebounding: 0-5
When rebounding is even: 1-0
When leading in assists: 9-2
When trailing in assists: 5-5
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.
Hunter Bondurant is in his second season as head coach of the Ottawa University women's basketball team.
In his debut season, Bondurant guided the Braves to a 15-14 record for the team's first consecutive winning seasons since 2013-15.
Before taking over head coaching duties, Bondurant was an assistant coach for Ottawa and helped the Braves win 18 games in 2022-23, 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 hit the road for three straight games, starting Wednesday evening (Feb. 12) at Sterling College. Tip-off will be at 6 pm in Sterling, Kan.
