[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons Square Off with Missouri Valley Tonight
The Lowdown: Missouri Valley College at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Friday, Nov. 1 @ 6 pm
Broadcast and Live Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons handed first-year head coach Dean Jaderston his first career victory with the program by grinding out a 73-69 win over the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies in their season opener Monday evening (Oct. 28) inside the Garvey Center.
The Falcon defense was frenetic throughout in forcing 36 turnovers, none bigger than the three miscues on the Aggies' final three possessions.
Following a free throw by Naomi Rodriguez that gave the Aggies a one-point lead of 69-68 with 1:52 left, a putback by Kira Ward (JR/Hartford, SD) gave the Falcons a lead they wouldn't relinquish down the stretch.
The scored stayed that way until Naria Hall (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) stepped up and hit two clutch free throws at the 12 second mark.
Alex Mulinax (SR/Fort Worth, Texas) then put it away by splitting a pair at the charity stripe with two seconds remaining.
The Falcons were led by 18 points, five steals and three assists from Seuvahnia Kuka (JR/Pittsburg, Calif. ), with Patriece Dodson (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) scoring 12 along with a team-high seven rebounds. Hall wound up with nine points, while HaLee Roland (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) also scored nine with three thefts. Gracie Sammons (FR/Aubrey, Texas) also dished out three assists for Friends.
Scouting the Vikings: Tonight is the 2019-20 season opener for the Missouri Valley College Vikings. Last season, the Vikings were 14-17 overall and 12-12 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Shanelle Tolley is the leading returning scorer (12.7 ppg) and rebounder (7.5 rpg) for the Vikings from last season.
The Series: This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2014-15 season, in which the Vikings slipped by with a 59-57 win in Marshall, Mo.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston
"Monday was a great start for our team this year but it also exposed a lot of things we have to improve on. Hopefully we'll be a lot better on both ends in the half court tonight without losing our full court tenacity. MO Valley has a great returning All American and a legit shooter, so we have to take the next step defensively as well."
Wheat State Insurance Group: We are proud to have Wheat State Insurance Group as a sponsor of Friends University Basketball this season! For more info on what they can offer, check them out at this link: www.wheatstateinsurance.com
Falcons by the Numbers:
When scoring:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 0-0
70-79 points: 1-0
80-89 points: 0-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 1-0
70-79 points: 0-0
80-89 points: 0-0
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 0-0
When trailing at halftime: 1-0
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When winning the turnover battle: 0-0
When losing the turnover battle: 0-0
When turnovers are even: 0-0
In OT: 0-0
The Coaches:
Dean Jaderston is entering his first season at the helm of the Friends University women's basketball program.
Jaderston brings a stark familiarity to the Falcons, having served as the head men's basketball coach for KCAC program Sterling College for the past 13 seasons.
At Sterling, Jaderston instilled a winning culture and became the program's all-time winningest coach with 189 career victories. He guided the Warriors to a pair of KCAC regular season championships and also a postseason conference title.
A two-time KCAC Coach of the Year, Jaderston coached six NAIA All-America performers during his tenure at Sterling.
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 head men's basketball coach and athletic director at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill. for five seasons.
He also spent eight seasons as both the head women's basketball and women's tennis coach at Rosemount High School in Rosemount, Minn.
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.
His collegiate athletic career wasn't limited to basketball, as he also competed in tennis for three years at Crown and was a two-time conference singles and doubles champion.
Jaderston and his wife Julie have been married for 32 years and are very 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.
Andre Scott is in his second season as head coach of the Missouri Valley College women's basketball program. He is familiar with the squad, having served as the assistant coach during the 2017-18 season.
Up Next: The Falcons will play an exhibition game tomorrow afternoon (Nov. 2) at NCAA D-I Oral Roberts University starting at 2 pm in Tulsa, Okla. Friends will then return home and host Benedictine College Tuesday evening (Nov. 5) at 6 pm.