[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons back in action tonight at home vs. Avila
The Lowdown: Avila University at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Monday, Nov. 28 @ 6 pm
Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3XL5GAa
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are 5-2 overall after falling 68-62 at the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes last Tuesday (Nov. 22) that evened their KCAC record at 1-1 on the season. McKenzie Shippy led all scorers with 24 points (just two shy of her career-high) and pulled down eight rebounds. Bridget Busbee scored 15, with Rayland Garner finishing with 12 points and also recording eight boards. Taylor Jackson blocked four shots for Friends.
Garner is quickly making her mark in her first season as a Falcon, scoring a team-high and ranking second in the KCAC with 16.4 ppg. She is also second on the team with six rebounds per game.
Jackson, last season's KCAC Freshman of the Year, is picking up where she left off last year with 10.1 ppg, a team-high 7.6 rebounds and a KCAC-leading 3.3 blocks.
McKenzie Shippy is second on the team in scoring with 14.7 ppg, with Bridget Busbee (2.9 apg) and Gracie Sammons (2.4 apg) serving as the leading distributors on the Falcons. Busbee's assist number is good for fourth in the KCAC.
Irie Razor has given the Falcons a valuable threat from beyond the arc, hitting 50 percent (9-of-18) of her three-point attempts that ranks second in the KCAC.
Scouting the Eagles: The Avila University Eagles are 1-6 overall, with a 1-2 mark in the KCAC this season.
Hannah Smith leads the Eagles with 11.3 ppg, while Kaytee Frasher is pulling down a team-high 5.1 rebounds per game. London Foster has recorded a team-leading 2.6 assists per game on the season for Avila.
The Series: Since Avila became a KCAC member in the 2018-19 season, the Falcons have won five of eight meetings, including the past four matchups in the series. Prior to that, Friends and Avila hadn't met since the Falcons won 83-76 on the road during the 2004-05 season.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston:
"It will be good to play at home again after Thanksgiving break. We need to bounce back after a tough loss on Tuesday. The keys will be for us to get back our defensive consistency, take care of the basketball, and rebound at both ends of the court. When we do those three things, we play very well. Avila has a new coach and some new faces, so we have to make sure we're prepared. We are right in the middle of a logjam in the conference, so we need to start another winning streak this week."
She's always defensive: Picking up right where she left off last season, Taylor Jackson continues to be a major deterrent for the Falcons along the interior. Jackson won KCAC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career on Nov. 14 and is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game this season along with a KCAC-leading 3.3 blocks.
Immediate Impact: The Falcons are getting major contributions from a pair of newcomers to the program in Rayland Garner and Irie Razor. In seven games off the bench, Garner leads the Falcons and ranks second in the KCAC with 16.4 ppg. Meanwhile, Razor has flashed big-time potential from the perimeter, hitting 50 percent (9-of-18) of her three-point attempts that is second in the league.
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 tickets to all home basketball games by clicking HERE.
Falcons by the Numbers:
Overall record: 5-2
KCAC: 1-1
Home: 4-0
Road: 0-1
Neutral: 1-1
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-1
50-59 points: 0-0
60-69 points: 1-1
70-79 points: 1-0
80-89 points: 3-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 2-0
50-59 points: 2-0
60-69 points: 0-1
70-79 points: 1-1
80-89 points: 0-0
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 5-0
When trailing at halftime: 0-2
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing more turnovers: 1-2
When committing fewer turnovers: 4-0
When turnovers are even: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 5-0
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 0-2
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 4-1
When trailing in three-point percentage: 1-1
When leading in rebounding: 3-2
When trailing in rebounding: 1-0
When rebounding is even: 1-0
When leading in assists: 5-0
When trailing in assists: 0-2
When assists are even: 0-0
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.
A University of Nebraska-Omaha graduate, Remy Wolfe is in her first year as head coach of the Avila University women's basketball program.
Up Next: The Falcons will tangle with Oklahoma Wesleyan University Thursday evening (Dec. 1) at 6 pm in Bartlesville, Okla. Friends will then host Ottawa University Saturday evening (Dec. 3) starting at 5 pm inside the Garvey Center.