[Women's Basketball] WBB GAMEDAY PREVIEW: Falcons Set to Face Ottawa Tomorrow on Senior Night
The Lowdown: Ottawa University at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Feb. 13 @ 3:00 pm
Broadcast and Live Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/
Flying with the Falcons: The Falcons come in at 10-13 overall and 8-12 in the KCAC.
Khadijah Miller paces the Falcons with 10.0 ppg and 1.9 spg. Kayna Simoneau has been the biggest facilitator on the team averaging 3.0 assists per contest and adding 1.7 steals per game. Kira Ward averages a team-high 5.9 rpg.
The Falcons rank second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (14.6) and are third in total rebound margin (+2.2). The Falcons force 18.6 turnovers per game, thanks to 9.5 steals per game.
Scouting the Braves: The Ottawa University braves are 10-12 overall on the season and 10-10 in the KCAC.
Haylie Anderson leads three Braves in double-digit scoring averaging 14.9 ppg and 2.1 apg. Amyr Lowe adds 10.8 ppg and a team-high 2.2 spg, while Mariah Grizzle brings 10.1 ppg and pulls down 5.8 rpg.
The Braves are fourth in the KCAC with 9.6 steals per contest with three players averaging over two spg.
The Series: The Braves took the first meeting this season in Ottawa, 68-65. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Falcons. Friends holds a 25-14 lead in the series since 2003-04.
Quoting Head Coach Dean Jaderston: "This is the time of the season we really want to focus on building momentum toward the playoffs. The goal is always to be playing your best ball at the end of the season. We lost a close one to Ottawa at their place early in the season but we're a different team now. This will be a great test to see how far we've come. It's also a very important game because it's the day we honor our seniors. Khadijah Miller and Tiffany Hurd have given 4 years to Friends basketball. They've had multiple coaches, worked through adversity, but in my opinion, they are playing the best basketball they ever have. Satori Roberson joined us this year and has been a lot of fun to add to the mix. We want to show them our appreciation for all they've done for our program!"
Consistency is Key: Junior guard Kayna Simoneau is the only Falcon to start in every game this season and is shooting 44.3 percent from the field this season averaging 6.2 points per game. Simoneau leads the Falcons with 3.0 assists per contest and is fifth in the KCAC with 68 total assists.
Sammons for Three: Sophomore guard Gracie Sammons has been on fire from the perimeter over the last seven games, connecting on 15 threes while shooting at a 42.9 percent clip. Sammons has made 29 threes this season and knocked down at least two in eight games. She is third on the team with 7.0 ppg.
Falcons by the Numbers:
When scoring:
Under 50 points: 0-4
50-59 points: 3-5
60-69 points: 5-2
70-79 points: 1-2
80-89 points: 0-0
90+ points: 1-0
When allowing:
Under 50 points: 4-0
50-59 points: 4-2
60-69 points: 2-6
70-79 points: 0-3
80-89 points: 0-2
90+ points: 0-0
When leading at halftime: 8-2
When trailing at halftime: 2-10
When tied at halftime: 0-1
When winning the turnover battle: 5-5
When losing the turnover battle: 3-7
When turnovers are even: 2-1
In OT: 0-0
The Coaches:
Dean Jaderston is entering his second season at the helm of the Friends University women's basketball program.
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.
"I'm so excited to be coaching at Friends University," said Coach Jaderston. "From the administration to the staff, there is a level of professionalism and excitement that is contagious. As our program and culture continue to grow, the sky is the limit!"
Prior to taking over at Sterling, Jaderston served in the dual role of head men's basketball 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 first season as head coach of the OU women's basketball program.
Scott has an overall coaching record of 174-86 and a head coaching record of 42-11. She has coached seven all-conference players and one conference player of the year, coached and recruited an NAIA All-American, coached two conference championship teams, coached one Texas private school state championship team, was the first head coach to take Talladega College to the NAIA National Tournament and helped two other teams reach the NAIA National Tournament.
Up Next: The Falcons return home for the final time this season to take on the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes on Wednesday (Feb. 17). Tipoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.