[Women's Basketball] Jackson earns another KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week nod

WICHITA, Kan. – Friends University sophomore forward Taylor Jackson's imposing defensive presence continues to earn her accolades, as the Houston, Texas native has been named the KCAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and fifth overall in her career, the league office announced today (Dec. 5).

"Taylor is making more and more of an impact as we learn to trust her rim protection," said Friends women's basketball head coach Dean Jaderston. "We won all three games last week and held our opponents to a combined 31.5% field goal percentage. That only happens if you can get ball pressure, and Taylor's presence in the lane gives us confidence to put pressure on the perimeter."

Jackson put in her typical, stifling defensive performance in fueling the Falcons to a perfect 3-0 record this past week.

She averaged seven defensive rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals, highlighted by corralling eight defensive boards along with four steals and three blocks in a 70-61 victory over Avila University (Nov. 28).

Jackson then blocked three more shots in a gritty 48-43 victory at Oklahoma Wesleyan University for the Falcons' first win in Bartlesville, Okla. since the 2017-18 season.

To cap off her big week, Jackson recorded seven more defensive rebounds and picked up one more steal and block for the Falcons in a key KCAC victory over Ottawa University on Saturday (Dec. 3).

For the season, Jackson is fifth in the league in defensive rebounds (5.9) and first in blocks (3.0).

Jackson's interior presence is a key component in why the Falcons find themselves in a four-way tie for the top spot in the KCAC with a 4-1 league record along with an 8-2 overall mark.

The Falcons will look to keep things rolling when they host the University of Saint Mary Spires Wednesday evening (Dec. 7) at 6 pm inside the Garvey Center.