York, Neb. – The Friends University Falcons captured their third straight win with a 64-53 road victory at the York College Panthers in KCAC action tonight (Jan. 4) in York, Neb.
The win is also the Falcons' sixth win in their last seven outings under first-year head coach Dean Jaderston to move above .500 at 6-5 in the KCAC and 8-8 overall.
"It was good to get back on the court," Jaderston said. "We had some good defensive intensity right away, and our offense slowly got better as the night went on. To get a win on the road is always a big deal in the KCAC, and especially coming out of the break."
The Falcons came out of the gate with a stifling defensive effort that allowed them to score the first 11 points of the game over the first eight minutes of the opening period.
A three-point play by Naria Hall (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) stretched the lead to 16-5 early in the second quarter and the Falcons maintained an 11-point edge of 24-13 following consecutive buckets by Seuvahnia Kuka (JR/Pittsburg, Calif. ).
After the Panthers came within six on three occasions in the late stages of the first half, scores from Hall and HaLee Roland (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) extended the Falcon lead back to double-digits at 35-25 at the break.
With the lead standing at seven, Khadijah Kelly (JR/Arlington, Texas) came alive to score the final six points of an 8-0 push to give the Falcons their biggest separation of the game at 47-32 at the 4:23 mark of the third quarter.
The Falcons never looked back from there, maintaining a double-figure lead for much of the second half until York climbed within 58-50 with just 1:41 left.
Kira Ward (JR/Hartford, SD), Roland and Patriece Dodson (SR/Wichita, Kan. ) answered with scores for the Falcons to thwart any potential late rally by the Panthers.
Kelly scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half to lead the Falcons. Hall finished with 12 points along with a game-high eight rebounds, while Dodson chipped in with 11 points. Roland led the Falcons with five assists.
Kiara Pesina led the Panthers with 14 points and four assists, while Amaia Diez added 11 points. Kendall Fike had a team-best six boards for York.
Friends continued its stout defensive effort throughout, limiting the Panthers to just 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field and only 2-of-16 from three-point distance.
The Falcons also controlled the action inside, out-rebounding the Panthers 41-30 that led to a 47-36 advantage in points in the paint and a 12-4 edge in second chance points.
Next up for the Falcons will be a non-conference bout at home vs. Randall University (Okla.) on Wednesday evening (Jan. 8). Tip-off will be at 6 pm inside the Garvey Center.
