[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons host No. ...
The Lowdown: No. 21 Sterling College at Friends University
KCAC "Road to Hartman" Game of the Week
Location: Garvey Center
When: Wednesday, Feb. 8 @ 6 pm
Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Radio: ESPN Wichita 92.3 FM
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3Xc80ys
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are 13-11 overall and seventh in the KCAC with a 9-9 league record following road setbacks at Ottawa University and the University of Saint Mary this past week.
Taylor Jackson, last season's KCAC Freshman of the Year, continues to be a force inside with 10.9 ppg, a team-high 9.7 rebounds that is second in the KCAC along with an NAIA-leading 3.6 blocks per game.
McKenzie Shippy is enjoying a breakout season offensively and is scoring 11.8 ppg, with Gracie Sammons dishing out a team-leading 2.2 assists per game.
Scouting the Warriors: The No. 24-ranked Sterling College Warriors have won 10 straight games and 17 of 18 overall to pace the KCAC with a 17-1 conference record along with a 20-4 overall mark.
Karsen Schultz is scoring a KCAC-leading 17.7 points per game to pace the Warriors offensively, followed by 13.5 ppg from both Bailey Albright and Taya Wilson. Albright also leads the team and is second in the league with 3.6 assists per game, while Wilson is tops on the Warriors and third in the KCAC in rebounding (8.8 rpg).
The Series: The Falcons gave the Warriors all they could handle on the road in the first matchup this season, but a three by Kali Briar proved to be the game-winner in a 54-52 win for Sterling. The Falcons have now dropped 11 straight meetings to the Warriors after winning eight of 11 in the series.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston:
"This time of the season nothing is easy. Everyone is dealing with aches and pains, and you can't surprise anyone. Our biggest challenge is trying to figure out where our offense is coming from. We've been struggling to shoot it recently, and so points have been hard to come by. We have to shake off the past couple of games and get ready for this one. Keys will be taking care of the ball, slowing down Sterling's offensive rebounding and transition game, and hitting some big shots at crunch time. We're looking forward to the challenge."
Boarding School: Two of the top rebounders in the KCAC will be on display in this matchup, as the Falcons' Taylor Jackson is second in the league with 9.7 rebounds per game, followed closely by Taya Wilson with 8.8 rebounds for Sterling.
Value the Basketball: Taking care of the basketball has been a huge key to the Falcons' success this season. The Falcons are 7-1 when committing fewer turnovers, but 6-10 when losing the all-important turnover category.
Share and Share Alike: The Falcons are 7-1 in the eight games they dish out more assists than the opposition, but are 6-10 when recording fewer assists.
She's always defensive: Taylor Jackson continues to be a major deterrent for the Falcons along the interior. Jackson has won five KCAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season and eight for her career. The Houston, Texas native is second in the KCAC in rebounding (9.7 rpg) this season and has blocked an NAIA-leading 3.6 shots per game. With her eight swats at Bethany back on Jan. 14, Jackson became the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks. She now has 182 swats for her career.
60 is a serious number: The Falcons are 11-2 when holding the opposition under 60 points, but are 2-9 when the opponent reaches or surpasses the 60-point mark.
Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 12-3 when leading in field-goal percentage, but are just 1-8 when being outshot by the opposition.
Just take me half the way: When the Falcons carry a lead into the locker room, they've won 11 of 14 games. However, the Falcons are 2-8 in games they trail at intermission.
Sponsor Alerts: Friends University Athletics is excited to have Home2 Suites by Hilton back as an official athletic sponsor this season! For more on what they can offer, click HERE to visit their official webpage.
Tickets: Fans are able to purchase tickets to all home basketball games by clicking HERE.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall record: 13-11
KCAC: 9-9
Home: 9-2
Road: 3-8
Neutral: 1-1
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 1-6
50-59 points: 1-2
60-69 points: 6-3
70-79 points: 2-0
80-89 points: 3-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 4-1
50-59 points: 7-1
60-69 points: 1-5
70-79 points: 1-3
80-89 points: 0-1
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 11-3
When trailing at halftime: 2-8
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 7-1
When committing more turnovers: 6-10
When turnovers are even: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 12-3
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-8
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 8-5
When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-6
When leading in rebounding: 8-7
When trailing in rebounding: 4-4
When rebounding is even: 1-0
When leading in assists: 7-1
When trailing in assists: 6-10
When assists are even: 0-0
In OT: 2-0
The Coaches:
Dean Jaderston is in his fourth season at the helm of the Friends University women's basketball program.
The program broke out under Jaderston last season, coming in fourth place in the KCAC for their best conference finish since winning the league in the 2017-18 season. The Falcons went 22-10 overall last year, marking the Falcons' first 20-win season since going 24-9 in 2017-18.
Jaderston coached a trio of All-KCAC performers last season, highlighted by KCAC Freshman of the Year Taylor Jackson.
Jaderston brings a wealth of experience to Friends University, with over 30 years of coaching high school and college basketball (12 years high school, 19 years of college). A two-time KCAC Coach of the Year, Jaderston coached six NAIA All-America performers during his tenure at Sterling College and won two KCAC championships and one KCAC tournament championship. Off the hardwood, Jaderston also made a significant impact, overseeing a team GPA of at least 3.0 for 11 of the past 13 years. He also led three basketball mission trips to Panama.
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.
He also 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.
Before venturing into the coaching profession, Jaderston was a successful college basketball player at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minn. 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 honors at Crown College.
He also competed in tennis for three years at Crown and was a two-time conference singles and three-time conference doubles champion.
Jaderston and his wife Julie have been married for 33 years and are active in youth and camping ministries. They currently serve as executive directors of a premier summer Christian family conference called Northern Pines of Minnesota.
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.
K.C. Bassett is in her ninth season as head coach of the Sterling College Warriors. Bassett has guided the Warriors to two straight KCAC regular season and tournament championships along with four consecutive NAIA National Tournament berths.
Before taking the reins of the program, Bassett served seven years as an assistant coach at Sterling. She was also a four-year starter for the Lady Warriors and finished her playing career as the program's all-time leader in assists.
Up Next: The Falcons will hit the road for the final time in the regular season at Tabor College on Saturday evening (Feb. 11). Tip-off is scheduled for 5 pm in Hillsboro, Kan.