[Women's Basketball] Jackson lifts Women's Basketball Falcons back into win column over OKWU
WICHITA, Kan. – Known primarily for her defensive prowess, sophomore forward Taylor Jackson (SO/Houston, Texas) provided plenty of offense with a season-high 25 points to power the Friends University Falcons to a 66-53 victory over the Oklahoma Wesleyan University Lady Eagles in KCAC action tonight (Jan. 28) inside the Garvey Center.
The win snaps a three-game skid and moves the Falcons into a tie for fifth place in the KCAC at 9-7 along with a 13-9 overall mark.
Trailing 12-9 late in the first quarter, a layup by Bridget Busbee (SR/Grand Prairie, Texas) and a score from Sadie Hopman (SO/Pillager, Minn.) that beat the buzzer gave the Falcons a one-point lead.
With the game knotted at 14-14, Jackson went to work inside and scored three buckets in the paint to key an 8-2 spurt for a six-point Falcon edge.
After the Lady Eagles came within two, a three by Ashlyn Ryall (SO/Friendswood, Texas) and a runner from Busbee extended the lead to 27-20 with 3:28 left in the opening half.
Jackson then finished the half with two free throws to put the Falcons on top 30-22 at the break.
In the second half, the Falcons got contributions across the board to bust things open as back-to-back threes by McKenzie Shippy (SR/Woodbine, Kan. ) and Busbee initiated a 10-0 run that extended an eight-point lead up to 46-28 at the 3:14 mark of the third quarter.
The Falcons still had to fend off another push from the Lady Eagles, as threes by Ty'Najah Mitchell bookended a 12-0 run that bridged the final 2:19 of the third period and nearly three minutes of the fourth quarter to make it a five-point game.
Ryall provided the Falcons with a solid response, hitting treys to start and finish a 10-0 burst to stretch the lead back to 15 at 58-43 with 4:47 left.
Another three by Mitchell cut the Falcon lead to single-digits at the 1:40 mark, but Jackson again came through with a crucial score inside to make it 62-51 and four free throws over the final 51 seconds sealed the victory for the Falcons.
"We moved the ball tonight the best we have since break!" said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "It resulted in the most assists we've had in a game this year! We trusted the ball would find the right space and it opened up so much."
Jackson's 25 points are the second most of her career and just four shy of her career-high. The Houston, Texas native also pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked seven shots. Busbee finished with 11 points and Kassie Kinniburgh (JR/Valley Center, Kan.) also recorded a season-high tying 10 boards for the Falcons.
Friends also enjoyed great distribution from Natia Hagan (FR/Humble, Texas) and Gracie Sammons (SR/Aubrey, Texas), with Hagan dishing out a career-high seven assists and Sammons equaling her career-best with six dimes.
Sydnee Schovanec paced the Lady Eagles (8-15, 7-10 KCAC) with 17 points and nine boards, with Mitchell adding 12 points and Gracie Alexander also reaching double-figure scoring with 10 points.
"Taylor played her best offensive game of the season, partly because she wasn't facing double teams all night," said Jaderston. "Ashlyn gave us some much needed perimeter shooting and the entire team guarded so well tonight. This was a huge game…we had been struggling and OKWU had won five of their last six games. To bounce back after Thursday showed the toughness of our team and their commitment to each other."
As Jaderston alluded to, the ball movement resulted in solid looks throughout, as the Falcons shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor in the second half and 49 percent (25-of-51) clip overall.
Buoyed by Jackson's dominance inside, the Falcons outscored the Lady Eagles 28-14 in the paint and held a 41-31 edge in rebounding.
The Falcons will look to continue their winning ways when they play at Ottawa University next Wednesday evening (Feb. 1 for a 6 pm tip-off in Ottawa, Kan.