Winfield, Kan. – The newly ranked Friends University Falcons won for the 12th straight time behind a career-high 23 points from Katie Weiss in a 87-66 victory this evening (Jan. 14) at the Southwestern College Lady Builders in Winfield, Kan. The 12-game winning streak matches the Falcons' win streak during the 2023-24 season.
The game was tied 21-21 after one quarter and the Falcons were clinging to a two-point lead with 2:57 left in the opening half when the duo of Raegan Bugaj (six points) and KK Peeler (five points) combined for 11 points to fuel a 13-1 burst to end the second quarter and open a 46-32 cushion at the break.
The No. 23 Falcons continued to pull away in the third quarter and took their biggest lead of the night at 65-40 before the Lady Builders ended the period on a 13-2 run to come within 14 points heading to the fourth.
But a three by Peeler and consecutive treys from Weiss keyed a 13-3 spurt to begin the final period and stretch the Falcon lead back to a comfortable 80-56 edge with 6:26 left in the game.
Friends later led by 25 again following a three-point play by Bugaj and were never threatened the rest of the way.
Weiss' career-best point total came thanks to a career-high seven makes from three-point distance. Lauryn McIver had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, with Bugaj following up her career performance at OKWU last Saturday (Jan. 10) with major contributions on both ends, scoring 15 points and recording a career-high seven steals. Peeler added 10 points and eight assists for the Falcons, who are now 16-1 overall and remain one game behind No. 22-ranked Evangel University for the top spot in the KCAC with a 10-1 league record.
Kennedy Ford led four Lady Builders in double-figure scoring with 22 points, followed by 18 points from Breanna Goad. Martha De La Rosa scored 11 and Macey Pond had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards along with a team-high four assists for Southwestern.
Led by Bugaj's 15 points, the Falcons enjoyed a big 25-3 advantage in bench points.
The Falcons will now return home for the first time in two weeks and host Bethany College Saturday (Jan. 17) at 3 pm inside the Garvey Center.
NOTE: Earlier today, the Falcons jumped into the NAIA Women's Basketball Top 25 poll for the first time in nearly eight years.
