KCAC

[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons begin KCAC postseason journey tonight at Bethany

The Lowdown: Friends University at Bethany CollegeKCAC Postseason QuarterfinalLocation: Lindsborg, Kan.When: Thursday, Feb. 23 @ 7 pmBroadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/   Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3m2NHXzFlying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons head into tonight's KCAC quarterfinal matchup with plenty of momentum, winning their final two games of the regular season to move to 15-13 overall and remain in the seventh spot in the conference with an 11-11 mark.   Taylor Jackson has been the Falcons' go-to inside threat with 11.2 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.McKenzie Shippy has produced a breakout season offensively and is scoring a team-high 11.3 ppg, with Gracie Sammons dishing out a team-leading 2.1 assists per game.Scouting the Swedes: The Bethany College Swedes are riding a three-game winning streak to finish the regular season 20-7 and secure the second seed with a sparkling 18-4 league record.Emily Weathers leads the Swedes in both points (13.0 ppg) and rebounds (5.3 rpg) this season, while leading the KCAC in field-goal percentage (54.6 percent). R'Manie Pulling is also averaging double-figure points at 10.6 ppg along with a team-leading 2.6 assists per game. Kisa Unruh is the Swedes' top three-point shooter, ranking fifth in the league in three-point percentage (38.3 percent).      The Series: The Swedes bested the Falcons 61-49 in the only matchup between the two schools this year. Prior to a season split in the 2018-19 season, the Falcons had won 19 straight meetings in the series. In the 2019-20 and 20-21 seasons, each team won on their home floor, but the Swedes won the rubber matchup of the 19-20 campaign at home in the KCAC postseason tournament quarterfinal round. Last season, the Swedes won both meetings over the Falcons.Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston:  "The post-season is the final season!  Everyone is 0-0 and it's win or go home.  We're ready. We will need to keep our turnovers down and make some shots but our team is confident going into tonight's game. It should be a great game!"Free Admission: Friends University students that bring their Student ID will be admitted to the game FREE tonight to cheer on the Falcons!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 190 swats for her career.Tournament History: Tonight will be the fourth matchup between the Falcons and Swedes in the KCAC Postseason Tournament since at least the 2004-05 season, with each outing occurring in the quarterfinal round. The Swedes have won two of those meetings, with the most recent coming in the 2019-20 season in Lindsborg, Kan. Bethany also won at home in 2005-06, while the Falcons secured a victory in Wichita in the 2012-13 season.60 is a serious number: The Falcons are 12-3 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 13-3 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 12 of 15 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: Fans are able to purchase tickets to all home basketball games by clicking HERE.Falcons by the Numbers:Overall record: 15-13KCAC: 11-11Home: 11-3Road: 3-9Neutral: 1-1When scoring:                                           Under 50 points: 1-750-59 points: 1-360-69 points: 6-370-79 points: 4-080-89 points: 3-090+ points:  0-0When allowing:Under 50 points: 5-150-59 points: 7-260-69 points: 2-570-79 points: 1-480-89 points: 0-190+ points: 0-0When leading at halftime: 12-3When trailing at halftime: 2-10When tied at halftime: 1-0When committing fewer turnovers: 8-1When committing more turnovers: 7-12When turnovers are even: 0-0When leading in field-goal percentage: 13-3When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-10When field-goal percentage is even: 1-0When leading in three-point percentage: 10-6When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-7When leading in rebounding: 10-8When trailing in rebounding: 4-5When rebounding is even: 1-0When leading in assists: 8-1When trailing in assists: 7-12When 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.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.Keith Ferguson is in his seventh season as head coach of the Bethany College Swedes. Following a 7-21 season in his first year at the helm, Ferguson has guided the Swedes to five straight winning seasons.Ferguson returned to his alma mater after a two-year stint as assistant coach at NCAA D-I Fresno State University. He helped guide Fresno State to two top-three finishes in the Mountain West Conference along with a pair of WNIT appearances.Up Next: With a win over Bethany, the Falcons would advance to the KCAC semifinal round at the winner of third-seeded Kansas Wesleyan University and sixth-seeded Ottawa University Saturday night (Feb. 25) at 7 pm.