KCAC
[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Championship berth on the line tomorrow night for …
The Lowdown: Friends University at Ottawa UniversityKCAC Postseason SemifinalLocation: Ottawa, Kan.When: Saturday, Feb. 25 @ 7 pmBroadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/ Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3IQtkpdFlying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons advanced to the KCAC postseason tournament semifinal round for the first time since the 2017-18 season by pulling out a 54-49 upset of the second-seeded Bethany College Swedes Thursday night (Feb. 23) and handing the Swedes only their second home loss of the season.Leading by as many as 20, the Falcons had to withstand a 16-0 Swede surge that gave Bethany its first lead since early in the second quarter.But on perhaps the biggest possession of the night, Taylor Jackson scored inside to put the Falcons back on top.Following a crucial defensive stop, it was then McKenzie Shippy putting in a huge bucket to stretch the lead back to three.The Falcons then forced another miss and Bridget Busbee stepped up and closed out the victory with a pair of clutch free throws.Shippy finished with a game-high 19 points for the Falcons (16-13), followed by 13 from Busbee. Jackson played crucial interior defense with a game-high 11 rebounds and four blocks. Gracie Sammons sparked the Falcon defensive effort from the perimeter and recorded four steals, while Shippy, Busbee and Sadie Hopman each had two thefts. Jackson has been the Falcons' go-to inside threat with 11.1 ppg, a team-high 9.8 rebounds that is second in the KCAC along with an NAIA-leading 3.4 blocks per game this season.Shippy has produced a breakout season offensively and is scoring a team-high 11.6 ppg, with Sammons dishing out a team-leading 2.1 assists per game.Scouting the Braves: The Ottawa University Braves are 18-11 overall and have won four of their last five games following a 74-70 upset of third-seeded Kansas Wesleyan University Thursday night (Feb. 23) in Salina, Kan.The Braves, the sixth seed in the KCAC tourney, are fueled by the duo of Nicole Brown and Cierra Brown. Nicole Brown is second in the conference in points (16.8 ppg) and tops in both rebounding (11.6 rpg) and field-goal percentage (54.5 percent). Meanwhile, Cierra Brown is fourth in the league in scoring 14.6 ppg) and second in three-point percentage (41.8 percent) while recording a team-leading 2.3 assists per game.The Series: The Falcons and Braves split the regular season meetings this season, with each team winning on their home floor. Recent history has belonged to the Falcons, as Friends has won 13 of the past 15 matchups between the schools. The Falcons are 29-16 vs. Ottawa overall since the 2003-04 season. Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston: "One thing about the playoffs is that there isn't much time to enjoy a win because you have another game two days later. We used a lot of energy with a shortened rotation on Thursday, so we have to both get our kids prepared and get them rested. Playing a team that you split with during the regular season provides some fun challenges. What worked and what didn't work? What adjustments will they make? What we do know is that we have to keep an attack mentality and a "next play tough" mentality to be successful in the playoffs. The team is very confident right now and I'm excited for the game."Tournament History: This will be the fifth KCAC tournament meeting between the Falcons and Braves dating back to the 2004-05 season. The Falcons prevailed at home in the 2008-09 and 2014-15 quarterfinal matchups, with the Braves winning in Wichita in the 2015-16 semifinal round. Most recently, the Falcons bested the Braves in Ottawa in the quarterfinals of the 2020-21 campaign.Inside Information: The two top rebounders in the KCAC and two of the top three shot blockers in the league will be featured when the Falcons face Braves in the tournament semifinal round. Ottawa's Nicole Brown is tops in the league in rebounding with 11.6 rpg, followed by the Falcons' Taylor Jackson with 9.8 rpg. Jackson is first in the KCAC in blocks (3.4 bpg), with Brown ranking third (2.0 bpg) in the category.All-KCAC recognition: Friends University forwards Taylor Jackson and McKenzie Shippy each earned All-KCAC status for the 2022-23 campaign. Jackson was a unanimous third-team pick and an All-Defensive team selection, while Shippy was an honorable-mention performer. Read the full release here!She's always defensive: Taylor Jackson has been a major deterrent for the Falcons along the interior since arriving on campus last season. Jackson won six KCAC Defensive Player of the Week awards this season and has won nine for her career. The Houston, Texas native also became the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks and now has 194 swats for her career.60 is a serious number: The Falcons are 13-3 when holding the opposition under 60 points, but are 3-10 when the opponent reaches or surpasses the 60-point mark.Make or Miss League: The Falcons are 14-3 when leading in field-goal percentage, but are just 1-10 when being outshot by the opposition. Friends won the only occurrence of the season when the field goal percentage was tied over York University (Feb. 15).Just take me half the way: When the Falcons carry a lead into the locker room, they've won 13 of 16 games. However, the Falcons are 2-10 in games they trail at intermission. The game has been tied at halftime just once this season, with the Falcons besting York University in overtime (Feb. 15).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: Click HERE to purchase tickets to all KCAC tournament games.Falcons by the Numbers:Overall record: 16-13KCAC: 11-11Home: 11-3Road: 4-9Neutral: 1-1When scoring: Under 50 points: 1-750-59 points: 2-360-69 points: 6-370-79 points: 4-080-89 points: 3-090+ points: 0-0When allowing:Under 50 points: 6-150-59 points: 7-260-69 points: 2-570-79 points: 1-480-89 points: 0-190+ points: 0-0When leading at halftime: 13-3When trailing at halftime: 2-10When tied at halftime: 1-0When committing fewer turnovers: 9-1When committing more turnovers: 7-12When turnovers are even: 0-0When leading in field-goal percentage: 14-3When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-10When field-goal percentage is even: 1-0When leading in three-point percentage: 11-6When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-7When leading in rebounding: 10-8When trailing in rebounding: 5-5When rebounding is even: 1-0When leading in assists: 8-1When trailing in assists: 8-12When assists are even: 0-0In OT: 3-0The Coaches:Dean Jaderston is in his fourth season at the helm of the Friends University women's basketball program. Jaderston has guided the Falcons this season to the KCAC postseason tournament semifinals, the team's furthest advancement in the tourney since the 2017-18 season.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.Tarniesha Scott is in her third season as head coach of the Ottawa University women's basketball program. Scott has guided the Braves to an 18-11 mark thus far this season, the program's most wins since the 2016-17 season.In her first season at the helm, Scott guided the Braves to their first KCAC postseason tournament appearance since 2016-17. She has coached five All-KCAC selections during her two-year tenure with the Braves.Prior to her stint at Ottawa, Scott was the assistant women's basketball coach at Xavier University of Louisiana for four seasons, where she helped the program win the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship and advance to the NAIA Division I National Tournament in 2018-19.Up Next: With a win over Ottawa, the Falcons advance to the KCAC tournament championship game Monday night (Feb. 27) against the winner of top-seeded Sterling College and fifth-seeded University of Saint Mary. Tip-off is set for 8 pm at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan.