The Lowdown: No. 7 seed Tabor College at No. 3 seed Friends University
* KCAC Postseason Tournament Semifinal
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Feb. 28 @ 2 pm
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Flying with the Falcons: The No. 21-ranked and third-seeded Friends University Falcons soared into the KCAC semifinal round with a 75-68 victory over sixth-seeded Sterling College Wednesday night (Feb. 25) behind a career-high tying 31 points from Lauryn McIver. The Falcons have won four straight are now 24-5 on the season, matching the program's most wins since the 2017-18 season. Read the full recap of the victory vs. Sterling HERE!
Prior to her injury, Rayland Garner led the Falcons in scoring (18.6 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and steals (2.4 spg). McIver is averaging a solid stat line of 15.8 ppg, 6.4 rebounds and a team-high 5.5 assists that is tied for second in the KCAC. Katie Weiss has hit a team-leading 68 threes and Abigail Barr is third on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and ranks first in the conference in field-goal percentage (60.8).
As a team, the Falcons are second in the KCAC in scoring (77.1 ppg) and are tied for first in field-goal percentage (47.4) while also ranking first in the league in field-goal percentage defense (38.6) for the season.
Scouting the Bluejays: The Tabor College Bluejays are now 15-14 after winning 60-53 at second-seeded Bethel College Wednesday night in the KCAC quarterfinals. The Bluejays have won seven of their last 10 games overall.
Lillie Veer is leading the Bluejays in scoring (12.2 ppg), while Tayton Smith is scoring 11.6 ppg and leading the KCAC in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and ranking third in the league in field goal percentage (56.1) and tied for fourth in blocks (1.3 bpg). Hailey Conteras is first on the team in assists (3.4 apg) this season.
Tabor is the KCAC's top defensive team in points allowed (57.0 ppg), giving up nearly nine points fewer than the second-place team (Oklahoma Wesleyan, 65.9 ppg).
The Series: The Falcons have won the last four meetings over the Bluejays and are 23-24 overall in the series since 2004, with a 12-11 mark in Wichita during that stretch. The Falcons and Bluejays last met in the KCAC postseason in the 2017-18 title game that saw Tabor prevail 73-67.
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.
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 a win over McPherson College (Feb. 14) 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 396 career assists.
70 or Below: The Falcons have won 16 of 17 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 6-4 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 12-2 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. The Falcons' win over Sterling Wednesday was the only game all season that the field goal percentage was even.
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: 24-5
KCAC: 17-5
Home: 12-3
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: 4-0
80-89 points: 11-1
90+ points: 4-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 2-0
50-59 points: 2-1
60-69 points: 12-0
70-79 points: 6-3
80-89 points: 1-0
90+ points: 1-1
When leading at halftime: 15-1
When trailing at halftime: 9-4
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 9-2
When committing more turnovers: 12-2
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: 1-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 14-1
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: 6-4
When rebounding is even: 0-0
When leading in assists: 17-1
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.
Shawn Reed is in his 15th season as head coach of the Tabor College Bluejays. A four-time KCAC Coach of the Year, Reed has guided Tabor to four KCAC regular-season titles, six league tournament championships, eight NAIA National Tournament appearances and eight 20-win seasons. In 2023, Reed guided the Bluejays to the trifecta with KCAC regular season and tourney titles and an NAIA National Tournament berth. He entered this season with 292 career victories and is Tabor's all-time winningest head coach.
Up Next: A win over Tabor would advance the Falcons to the KCAC tournament championship game for the third time in the last four seasons. They'd face the winner of top-seeded Evangel University and fourth-seeded University of Saint Mary on Monday night (Mar. 2). If Evangel wins, it'd be in Springfield, Mo. but a USM upset would land the KCAC title game in Wichita for the second straight season.
KCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
