WICHITA, Kan. – Friends University senior guard Lauryn McIver scored a career-high tying 31 points to power the No. 22-ranked and third-seeded Friends University Falcons to a 75-68 victory over the Sterling College Lady Warriors in the KCAC postseason tournament quarterfinals tonight (Feb. 25) inside the Garvey Center.
The Falcons are now 24-5 overall and will host seventh-seeded Tabor College in the semifinal round Saturday (Feb. 28) following Tabor's 60-53 upset win at second-seeded Bethel College tonight.
Carrying a three-point lead of 43-40 lead into the fourth quarter, the Falcons used the three-point shot to gain separation with threes from KK Peeler, Katie Weiss and McIver helping make it 54-47 at the 6:36 mark.
With the lead standing at five, McIver came through with two big free throws and a bucket to push the lead back to nine.
The Lady Warriors got as close as four with 10 seconds left, but two free throws from Raegan Bugaj closed out the victory.
The Falcons led 16-11 at the conclusion of the first period, but the Lady Warriors started the second quarter strong with a 12-2 run to take a 23-18 advantage.
Friends would then close the quarter as strong as the Lady Warriors started it, with McIver nailing a three to cap a 10-0 burst to end the opening half and give the Falcons a 28-23 lead at the break.
A three-point play by Abigail Barr opened up an eight-point lead early in the third for the Falcons. Sterling answered and eventually tied the score at 38-38 before the Falcons regained a slight edge going to the final quarter.
"It's always good to get that first tournament game under your belt," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "The tension and energy is just different from the regular season. I loved our defensive intensity and execution tonight, and Lauryn did a great job taking advantage of space and mismatches. We had to grind for the first half but liked how our pressure continued to impact the game."
McIver's 31-point output came on efficiency levels of 8-of-16 from the field, 5-of-8 from three-point distance and a season-high 10-14 at the charity stripe. McIver also had a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while Barr finished with 12 points and also dished out four assists.
Karlee Jacobs and Kali Briar each scored 14 points to pace the Lady Warriors. Jacobs led Sterling with six boards and Briar had a team-high four assists. Nevaeh Johnson and McKenna Vogl each added 10 points for the Lady Warriors, who conclude their season with a 17-12 record.
The field-goal percentage was even at 50 percent, but a key difference was the three-point line, as the Falcons made six more threes and outshot the Lady Warriors 52.6 percent to 30.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Tip-off for Saturday's semifinal matchup for the Falcons vs. the Bluejays will be at 2 pm inside the Garvey Center. Friends won both meetings over Tabor this season, including overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit on the road in the last meeting exactly three weeks ago.
