WICHITA, Kan. – The Friends University Falcons pulled away in the fourth quarter to hold off the Ottawa University Braves 69-54 tonight (Jan. 16) in KCAC action inside the Garvey Center.
It's the 10th conference win of the season for the Falcons, who remain in a tie for the fourth spot in the KCAC at 10-5 in the league.
"I was really proud of our effort tonight," Friends head coach Heather Howard said. "Some shots didn't fall our way in the first half and we let them stay in the game a little bit but overall we continued to fight through the game was commendable."
With the lead hovering at 57-52 at the 3:51 mark of the fourth quarter, Khadijah Kelly (SO/Arlington, Texas) drove inside for a big bucket that was followed by Alex Mulinax (JR/Fort Worth, Texas) recording a steal and then scoring on the other end for a nine-point lead.
Kelly then fired in a jumper that suddenly had the Falcons back up by double-figures with 2:18 left.
The Braves never threatened from that point and two free throws by Daija Styles (SR/Carrollton, Texas) and field goals from Kelly and Laramie Edens (SR/Ada, Okla. ) capped a game-ending 12-2 burst for the Falcons.
After the two squads played to a 12-12 standstill in the first quarter, five points each from Styles and Edens contributed a 10-3 spurt to begin the second period and gave the Falcons a seven point lead.
Katylyn Hughes brought the Braves back with the next six points to cut the lead to two and that's the margin the Falcons carried into the break at 29-27.
The Falcons came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second half, scoring the first 11 points to extend the edge up to 13.
Ottawa clawed back and got five points from Jennifer Anthony to spark a 10-1 run that made it a four-point game at 41-37 with 2:42 left in the third.
Kelly scored the final six points of the period for the Falcons to help stretch the lead back to 47-41 heading to the fourth.
Edens posted her ninth double-double of the season for the Falcons (10-10, 10-5 KCAC) with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Kelly scored 20 points with seven boards. Lexi Evans (SR/Austin, Texas) led Friends with a game-high six assists.
The Braves (7-12, 7-8 KCAC) were led by 14 points and 10 rebounds from Jordann Nachbar. Mariah Grizzle scored 11 and Anthony had 10 points.
Friends was outshot 44.4 percent (20-of-45) to 39.4 (28-of-71) from the field, but used the offensive glass to their benefit. The Falcons had a 14-4 edge in offensive rebounds and outscored the Braves 12-4 in second chance points and 36-26 in the paint.
"We definitely took a step in the right direction with how we want to play every night," Howard said.
The Falcons will next travel to Bartlesville, Okla. to play at Oklahoma Wesleyan University Saturday evening (Jan. 19) at 5 pm.
