[Women's Basketball] WBB Gameday Preview: Falcons Face Southwestern at Home Tomorrow Night
The Lowdown: Southwestern College at Friends University
Location: Garvey Center
When: Saturday, Jan. 26 @ 5 pm
Broadcast: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/
Flying with the Falcons: The Friends University Falcons nearly upset the No. 16-ranked Tabor College Bluejays for a second time this season, but the Bluejays outscored the Falcons 24-14 in the fourth quarter to escape with a 63-60 win. The Falcons are 11-12 overall and in a tie for fourth-place in the KCAC at 11-7 in the league.
Laramie Edens (SR/Ada, Okla. ) led the Falcons at Tabor with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lauren Anderson (SR/Columbus, Kan. ) produced a career-high effort of 13 points.
Edens is pacing the Falcons this season in points (15.3 ppg), rebounds (9.2 rpg) and blocks (2.7 bpg). She is tops in the both the KCAC and third in the NAIA in blocks per game, while also ranking third in the league in rebounds and second in double-doubles (11).
Lexi Evans (SR/Austin, Texas) is averaging 10.1 ppg and has hit a team-high 49 threes on the season, tied for second in the KCAC.
Khadijah Kelly (SO/Arlington, Texas) is scoring 10.6 ppg and leads the Falcons with 2.7 assists per game. She is also first in the league in steals (2.5 spg).
Aryanna Brown (JR/Garland, Texas) is also scoring in double-figures this season for Friends with 11.1 ppg over her 14 outings.
As a team, the Falcons are tops in the KCAC in steals per game (11.6), while also ranking first in the conference in blocks per game (4.0).
Scouting the Builders: The Southwestern College Lady Builders have lost two straight and eight of nine to come in at 4-19 overall and 3-15 in the KCAC.
Jazmyne Laskey leads Southwestern in both scoring (12.2 ppg) and assists (2.4 apg), with Marissa Evans second in scoring at 11.4 ppg. Ashley Carrillo is also averaging double-digit scoring (10.0 ppg) and Brittany Lawler has a team-high 6.1 rebounds.
The Series: The Falcons have won seven straight over Southwestern after sweeping the series last year and winning 77-50 in the first meeting this season (Dec. 5) in Winfield, Kan. Friends' seven-game winning streak is on the heels of a five-game skid against Southwestern.
Red Out: All fans are encouraged to wear Red to support the Falcons vs. Southwestern and create a boisterous atmosphere. There will also be free red popcorn balls and 20 % off all Red Nike apparel, with the first 50 students to the men's game also receiving a free Red Powerade. In keeping with the theme, Red Lobster will sponsor the Halftime contests for the women's game. Hoops Hysteria will also be at halftime of the men's game, where one lucky student will have the chance to participate in competitions for free tuition.
70 is a Serious Number: When the Falcons manage to score at least 70 points, they have a solid record of 7-2. In the games that they fail to reach the 70 point mark, the Falcons are just 4-10. Conversely, when holding the opposition under 70 points, they are 10-4, but have lost eight of the nine times they allow at least 70 points.
Just Take Me Half the Way: The Falcons have been good at holding halftime leads this season, going 8-2 when taking the edge into the locker room. But they are just 2-10 when trailing heading into the break.
Falcons by the Numbers:
When scoring:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 0-6
60-69 points: 4-4
70-79 points: 7-1
80-89 points: 0-1
90+ points:
When allowing:
Under 50 points:
50-59 points: 5-1
60-69 points: 5-3
70-79 points: 1-3
80-89 points: 0-4
90+ points: 0-1
When leading at halftime: 8-2
When trailing at halftime: 2-10
When tied at halftime: 1-0
When winning the turnover battle: 8-8
When losing the turnover battle: 3-3
When turnovers are even: 0-1
In OT: 1-0
The Coaches:
Heather Howard is in her first season as head coach of the Friends University women's basketball program.
Howard comes to Friends from Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU), where she served as the interim head coach in March of this past season following a two-year stint as assistant coach for the NCAA D-II program in Maryville, Mo.
As the assistant coach at NWMSU, Howard handled the duties of recruiting, scouting and player development.
Howard's run at Northwest was preceded by a two-year tenure as assistant at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
While at Cornell, Howard was in charge of recruiting and player development along with serving as the strength and conditioning coordinator. She coached a four-time first-team all-conference and second-team all-region player while recruiting the 2017 Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Howard began her coaching career at the same spot she wrapped her playing career, at Missouri Western State University (MWSU) in St. Joseph, Mo.
She was both a graduate assistant coach and compliance graduate assistant at MWSU in the 2013-14 season.
Her one season on the hardwood at MWSU was impactful, as she averaged 13.1 points per game along with 9.1 rebounds per game for the Griffons in the 2012-13 campaign.
Howard started her collegiate career at Oklahoma State University, earning three varsity letters and helping the Cowgirls capture the 2011-12 WNIT championship.
She was also successful in the classroom at OSU, picking up a pair of Academic All-Big 12 first-team honors.
Howard completed her Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from OSU in 2012 before earning a Master of Science degree in Sports Fitness and Management at MWSU in 2014.
Whitney Corley is in her fourth season as head coach at Southwestern College. She served as the interim coach for the Lady Builders in the first half of the 2015-16 season before being named the permanent coach in January of 2016. Before taking over as head coach of the program, Corley was an assistant coach at Southwestern during the 2014-15 campaign that followed a six-year run as assistant coach at Garden City Community College.
Up Next: The Falcons will play at McPherson College next Wednesday evening (Jan. 30) at 6 pm in McPherson, Kan.