[Women's Basketball] Women's Basketball Falcons Roll Past York 77-57

WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons took command and never looked back in a 77-57 victory over the York College Panthers in KCAC action tonight (Feb. 15) inside the Garvey Center.

HaLee Roland (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) scored seven points within the first 5:14 of the contest and Alex Mulinax (SR/Fort Worth, Texas) hit a buzzer-beating three to contribute to an 18-11 Falcon lead at the conclusion of the opening stanza.

After the Panthers clawed within a bucket at the 6:38 mark of the second period, a score from Naria Hall (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) and five straight points from Roland pushed the lead up to nine at 28-19.

The Falcons continued to pull away down the stretch of the opening half and finished the period on a 9-2 spurt to balloon the lead up to 37-23 at the break.

Five quick points from Julia Trujillo got the Panthers within 10 early in the second half, but a three by Roland ignited a 17-6 burst that was capped by the first career three-pointer by Tiffany Hurd (JR/Gilbert, Ariz. ). Hall also fueled the surge with seven points that made it 55-34 at the 3:13 mark of the third quarter.

The Falcons were never threatened from that point and eventually stretched the lead to a game-high 27 at 73-46 with 4:48 left.

"Good bounce back after Wednesday's game," Friends head coach Dean Jaderston said.  "We weren't at our best, but our quickness and defense set the tone early.  Any time you force 31 turnovers this late in the season, you're getting a good effort on the defensive side of the ball." 

Roland led the Falcons (14-15, 11-12 KCAC) with 21 points and also had three assists. Hall finished with 17 points along with five rebounds and three dimes. Patriece Dodson (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) added 12 points and Mulinax chipped in with 11 points. Hurd led the Falcons with eight boards. 

Trujillo paced the Panthers (1-26, 0-22 KCAC) with 19 points and Amaia Diez scored 12. Kendall Fike had a game-high 12 rebounds for York.

Friends held a 46-39 edge overall in rebounding, including a 17-5 edge on the offensive glass.

"Another big stat was 17 offensive rebounds," Jaderston said.  "That means we're getting back to pursuing the ball on every shot.  That resulted in 24 more shots and 11 more free throws than York and that is a great formula for success!"

Coming up next is Senior Night, as the Falcons will wrap up the regular season at home next Saturday evening (Feb. 22) against Southwestern College. The Falcons scored a season-high 94 points in a 39-point victory in the first meeting this season (Jan. 11) in Winfield, Kan.