[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons host Oklahoma Wesleyan tomorrow for FCA Night
The Lowdown: Oklahoma Wesleyan University at Friends University
"FCA Night"
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Jan. 28 @ 5 pm
Broadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3RdusWH
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons are coming off a defensive struggle setback Thursday evening (Jan. 26) at Avila University to put them in a tie for sixth in the KCAC at 8-7 in the league along with a 12-9 overall record.
Taylor Jackson, last season's KCAC Freshman of the Year, continues to be a force inside with 10.0 ppg, a team-high 9.7 rebounds that is second in the KCAC along with an NAIA-leading 3.5 blocks.
McKenzie Shippy is enjoying a breakout season offensively and is scoring 12.7 ppg, with Bridget Busbee dishing out a team-leading two assists per game.
Scouting the Lady Eagles: The Oklahoma Wesleyan University Lady Eagles are 8-14 overall and 7-9 in the KCAC, but have won five of their last six games overall.
Zariah Tillman leads OKWU in both points (11.8 ppg) and assists (2.2 apg) this season, with Sydnee Schovanec also scoring in double-figures at 10.8 ppg and leading the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg).
The Series: The Falcons are 17-11 in the past 28 meetings vs. OKWU, but have dropped seven of the last nine in the series. Friends won the first matchup this season (Dec. 1) on the road 48-43 over the Lady Eagles in Bartlesville, Okla.
FCA Night at the Garvey: Saturday night is FCA Night, with $1 of every ticket sold going to Friends University FCA Campus Representative Keith Townsend. If you're unable to attend the game but still want to contribute to the program, click HERE.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston:
"Saturday is an important day for a couple of reasons. For our team, getting our confidence back at home is huge, as we have been battling a rash of injuries. Players are stepping into the gap but we're still struggling to find our chemistry second semester. More importantly for our athletic department, FCA plays a critical role in the spiritual lives and holistic health of our coaches and student-athletes. Being able to support and celebrate FCA on Saturday is a great opportunity for our Friends community and supporters."
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 5-8 when losing the all-important turnover category.
Share and Share Alike: The Falcons are unbeaten in the six games they dish out more assists than the opposition but are 6-9 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 3.5 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 170 swats for her career.
60 is a serious number: The Falcons are 10-2 when holding the opposition under 60 points, but are 2-7 when the opponent reaches or surpasses the 60-point mark.
Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 11-2 when leading in field-goal percentage, but are just 1-7 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 10 of 12 games. However, the Falcons are 2-7 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: 12-9
KCAC: 8-7
Home: 8-2
Road: 3-6
Neutral: 1-1
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 1-4
50-59 points: 1-2
60-69 points: 5-3
70-79 points: 2-0
80-89 points: 3-0
90+ points: 0-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 4-1
50-59 points: 6-1
60-69 points: 1-3
70-79 points: 1-3
80-89 points: 0-1
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 10-2
When trailing at halftime: 2-7
When tied at halftime: 0-0
When committing fewer turnovers: 7-1
When committing more turnovers: 5-8
When turnovers are even: 0-0
When leading in field-goal percentage: 11-2
When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-7
When field-goal percentage is even: 0-0
When leading in three-point percentage: 7-5
When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-4
When leading in rebounding: 7-6
When trailing in rebounding: 4-3
When rebounding is even: 1-0
When leading in assists: 6-0
When trailing in assists: 6-9
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.
Heidi Messer is in her first season as head coach of the Oklahoma Wesleyan University women's basketball program. Messer is fresh off a five-year stint as assistant coach and strength and conditioning coach at Northeastern Oklahoma State University. Before joining NSU, Messer was also an assistant coach at Manchester University from 2012-14 following a two-year appointment as a graduate assistant coach at Georgetown College (Ky.). In her final season at Georgetown, Messer helped the team advance to the NAIA Fab Four.
Up Next: The Falcons will play at Ottawa University next Wednesday evening (Feb. 1), with tip-off set for 6 pm in Ottawa, Kan.