The Lowdown: No. 6 seed Sterling College at No. 3 seed Friends University
* KCAC Postseason Tournament Quarterfinal
Location: Garvey Center
When: Wednesday, Feb. 25 @ 7 pm
Broadcast
Live Stats
Flying with the Falcons: The No. 21-ranked Friends University Falcons ended the 2025-26 regular season on a high note by rallying from a double-digit halftime deficit to upend the Bethany College Swedes 80-72 on the road last Saturday (Feb. 21) in Lindsborg, Kan. The Falcons enter the postseason at 23-5 overall and finished tied for second in the KCAC with a 17-5 league record. Read the full recap of the victory at Bethany HERE!
Prior to her injury, Rayland Garner led the Falcons in scoring with 18.6 ppg. Lauryn McIver is averaging a solid stat line of 15.3 ppg, 6.4 rebounds and a team-high 5.6 assists that is tied for second in the KCAC. Katie Weiss has hit a team-leading 65 threes and Abigail Barr is third on the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and now ranks first in the conference in field-goal percentage (60.3).
As a team, the Falcons are second in the KCAC in both scoring (77.1 ppg) and field-goal percentage (47.3) and are tops in the league in field-goal percentage defense (38.2) for the season.
Scouting the Lady Warriors: The Sterling College Lady Warriors come in with an overall record of 17-11 overall and 13-9 in the KCAC.
Kali Briar is first on Sterling and fourth in the KCAC with 17.9 ppg, with Karlee Jacobs second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and tied for first in the league in steals (3.5 spg). McKenna Vogl is averaging 13.1 ppg) and is tops in the league in blocks (2.4 bpg), while Bailey Young is tied for first in the conference in rebounding (9.6 rpg).
The Series: The Falcons and Lady Warriors split the two regular season meetings this season, with each winning on the opposition's home floor. Friends has dropped three of the past four meetings vs. Sterling and is 15-36 in the series since 2004, with a 10-15 mark in Wichita during that stretch.
Promo Depot: We are proud to have Promo Depot as a sponsor of Friends University Athletics this season! Click HERE for more info on the services Promo Depot can offer!
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.
Let's Run it Back: The quarterfinal matchup between the Falcons and Lady Warriors is a rematch of last season's KCAC Tournament championship that saw Sterling come out on top 86-76 in overtime.
Assisting History: Senior guard Lauryn McIver recorded five assists in last Wednesday's (Feb. 18) victory over Southwestern College to set a new modern-era career assists record (385) for the Falcons. This adds to McIver's historic senior campaign as the Phoenix, Ariz. native set a new single-season assist mark (144) in last Saturday's win over McPherson College and broke her own single-game assist record with 12 helpers in an 84-67 victory over Avila University earlier this season on Jan. 31. McIver is now sitting on 392 career assists.
70 or Below: The Falcons have won 15 of 16 games when holding the opposition under the 70-point mark this season.
Boarding School: The Falcons are 18-1 when leading in rebounding but are 5-4 when trailing on the boards.
Make it Make Sense: It's Basketball 101 that it's hard to win when losing the turnover battle, but the Falcons have defied that logic all year. Friends is 11-2 this season when committing more turnovers than the opposition, with the last two losses at Ottawa University (Feb. 7) and vs. Sterling College (Feb. 11) representing the only two games all season the Falcons lost when committing more turnovers.
Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 23-1 when leading in field-goal percentage but have lost all four games that the opposition shoots a better percentage from the floor.
2 X 1000: Senior guard Lauryn McIver scored 16 points at Oklahoma Wesleyan (Jan. 10) to join teammate Rayland Garner as the ninth member of the modern era to reach 1,000 career points for the Women's Basketball Falcons. Garner reached the mark earlier this season, also against Oklahoma Wesleyan (Nov. 19).
Falcons by the Numbers
Overall record: 23-5
KCAC: 17-5
Home: 11-3
Road: 12-2
Neutral: 0-0
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-1
50-59 points: 1-1
60-69 points: 4-2
70-79 points: 3-0
80-89 points: 11-1
90+ points: 4-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 2-0
50-59 points: 2-1
60-69 points: 11-0
70-79 points: 6-3
80-89 points: 1-0
90+ points: 1-1
When leading at halftime: 14-1
When trailing at halftime: 9-4
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 9-2
When committing more turnovers: 11-2
When turnovers are even: 3-1
When leading in field-goal percentage: 23-1
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-4
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 13-1
When trailing in three-point percentage: 9-3
When three-point percentage is even: 1-1
When leading in rebounding: 18-1
When trailing in rebounding: 5-4
When rebounding is even: 0-0
When leading in assists: 16-1
When trailing in assists: 5-3
When assists are even: 2-1
In OT: 1-0
The Coaches:
Dean Jaderston is in his seventh 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 an 81-43 record over the past four years, including two trips to the KCAC championship game in the past three seasons.
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 38 years. They also currently serve as executive directors of a premier summer Christian family conference called Northern Pines of Minnesota. They have three married sons and nine grandchildren.
Evan Belk is in his first season as head coach of the Sterling College women's basketball program. Belk played for the Warriors and current Friends women's head coach Dean Jaderson in 2012.
Belk's coaching career started in 2021 at Cottey College in Nevada, Mo., where he was the assistant coach and assistant sports information director until taking over as head coach in 2024. At Cottey, Belk guided the team to their best record (19-10) since 2011.
Additional duties for Belk have included serving as the Regional Director of Rain Makers Christian Sports Ministry from 2014-2024 and overseeing the ministry and athletic endeavors of Northwest Arkansas.
Up Next: A win over Sterling would advance the Falcons to the KCAC semifinal round on Saturday (Feb. 28) against the winner of second-seeded Bethel College and seventh-seeded Tabor College. If Bethel wins, the game would be in North Newton but if Tabor pulls the upset, Saturday's semifinal game would be inside the Garvey Center.
