KCAC
[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons play for a championship tonight vs. …
The Lowdown: Friends University vs. University of Saint MaryKCAC Postseason Tournament ChampionshipLocation: Hartman Arena – Park City, Kan.When: Monday, Feb. 27 @ 8 pmBroadcast: https://kcacnetwork.com/friends/ Live Stats: https://bit.ly/3SxewzaFlying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons put together a typical defensive effort in dispatching the Ottawa University Braves 57-52 Saturday night (Feb. 25) to clinch a spot in the KCAC postseason tournament championship game for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Falcons have now won four straight and are 17-13 overall on the season.Taylor Jackson fueled the seventh-seeded Falcons on both ends in the victory at Ottawa, leading the team with a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds along with three steals and two blocks.Bridget Busbee chipped in with 12 points and McKenzie Shippy finished with 10, while Gracie Sammons and Jailen Johnson each dished out three assists.Following the Braves' outburst of five threes (5-of-14) in the opening half, the Falcons put the clamps down and stifled Ottawa into just 1-14 from three-point distance in the second half.The Braves had an advantage of 20-7 on the offensive glass, but the Falcons held the upper hand in overall rebounding (41-39) and points in the paint (30-22).Jackson has been the Falcons' go-to inside threat this season with 11.3 ppg, a team-high 10 rebounds per game that is second in the KCAC along with an NAIA-leading 3.3 blocks per game.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 Spires: The fifth-seeded University of Saint Mary Spires are riding a five-game winning streak following road upsets at fourth-seeded Tabor College and top-seeded Sterling College to advance to the KCAC tournament championship game.Jerrica Johnson leads the 20-10 Spires with 12.7 ppg this season. Alanis Delgado (11.6 ppg) and Tanea Sims (10.2 ppg) also average double-digit scoring, with Delgado leading the way with 2.9 assists per game and Alex Specht pulling down a team-leading 5.9 rebounds. Specht is fifth in the KCAC in field-goal percentage (52.3 percent) and Delgado ranks fifth in three-point percentage (38.8 percent). The Series: The Falcons have dominated the recent history between the two schools, winning 16 of the last 20 meetings. But the Spires got the best of the Falcons this season, winning both matchups by an average of 15.5 points. Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston: "This is what we work all season for. One of our players reminded me how during preseason conditioning we talk about being in the 4th quarter at Hartman Arena. Everyone dreams of playing for a championship and tonight we get the chance. We have to guard better than we have all season because St. Mary is so dangerous offensively, but we're ready. At the end of the day, you have to rebound, take care of the basketball and hit some shots. It's a pretty simple game when you get to the end of the season. I'm so proud of this team and how they have continued to compete every night! Should be a lot of fun tonight!"Students get in FREE: Thanks to Becker Truster and our Friends University SGA, all students get in FREE tonight!1. Bring your Student ID2. Pick up a ticket from Vashti Jones in Athletics OR in front of Hartman Arena from 7-8 pmYou must have your student ID and a ticket to get in!Tournament History: Dating back to the 2004-05 season, this is the third KCAC postseason tournament matchup between the Falcons and Spires. Both meetings occurred in the KCAC semifinal round in Wichita and the Falcons came out on top each time, starting in the 2014-15 season. The Falcons then defeated the Spires 57-47 in the 2017-18 campaign to make their last appearance in the championship game prior to this season's tournament run.We Back: The Falcons return to the KCAC postseason tournament championship game for the first time since the 2017-18 season. Friends defeated McPherson College 66-62 and then the University of Saint Mary 57-47 before falling 73-67 to Tabor College in the title game. 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 collected nine for her career. The Houston, Texas native also became the Falcons' modern-era career leader in blocks this season and now has 196 swats for her career.60 is a serious number: The Falcons are 14-3 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 15-3 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 over York University (Feb. 15) when the field goal percentage was tied.Just take me half the way: When the Falcons carry a lead into the locker room, they've won 14 of 17 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: 17-13KCAC: 11-11Home: 11-3Road: 5-9Neutral: 1-1When scoring: Under 50 points: 1-750-59 points: 3-360-69 points: 6-370-79 points: 4-080-89 points: 3-090+ points: 0-0When allowing:Under 50 points: 6-150-59 points: 8-260-69 points: 2-570-79 points: 1-480-89 points: 0-190+ points: 0-0When leading at halftime: 14-3When trailing at halftime: 2-10When tied at halftime: 1-0When committing fewer turnovers: 9-1When committing more turnovers: 8-12When turnovers are even: 0-0When leading in field-goal percentage: 15-3When trailing in field-goal percentage: 1-10When field-goal percentage is even: 1-0When leading in three-point percentage: 12-6When trailing in three-point percentage: 5-7When leading in rebounding: 11-8When trailing in rebounding: 5-5When rebounding is even: 1-0When leading in assists: 9-1When 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 championship game, the team's first appearance in the tourney title game 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.Andy Kelly is in his second season as head coach of the University of Saint Mary women's basketball program. Kelly comes to USM from Baker University, where he was an assistant coach for four seasons and helped the Wildcats to three NAIA National Tournament appearances along with a Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season and tournament title in 2017.Up Next: With a win over Saint Mary, the Falcons would seal their first NAIA National Championship berth since the 2017-18 season.