Following Thursday's thrilling Kansas Conference tournament quarterfinal victory over Saint Mary in Mabee Arena the top-seeded Coyotes are preparing for the semifinals. The winner advances to the championship March 4 at the site of the higher seeded team.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Opponent: Friends
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Mabee Arena
TICKETS
All tickets must be purchased in advance on the KCAC ticketing portal: https://kcacsports.com/sports/2023/1/6/tickets.aspx. KWU will have staff at the entry gates to assist fans with purchasing tickets through the KCAC ticketing portal, but there will be no cash sales and no point-of-sale ticket sales on site. KWU regular season passes will not be accepted at the event.
GAME COVERAGE
The games will be streamed live on the Coyote Sports Network, part of the KCAC Digital Network at www.kcacnetwork.com/kansaswesleyan
An audio-only broadcast of the game will be available online at salinapost.com, by listening live to 910 KINA/107.5 FM. The Voice of the Coyotes Tyler Henry and Russ Cossel will have the call of the game with Coyote Pregame Live starting at 6:30 p.m. The game can also be heard locally on 910 KINA and 107.5 FM.
Live Stats will be available as well, at www.kwucoyotes.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
RECORDS
- No. 1 seeded Kansas Wesleyan 23-6
- No. 5 seeded Friends 18-11
THE SERIES
- The Coyotes won both regular season games but trail in the series 22-20 since 2006. They won 78-65 on December 7 in Wichita and 73-69 on January 25 in Mabee Arena.
KANSAS WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
- A victory over Friends would put the Coyotes in the championship for the first time since 2013. They advanced to the semis with a hard-fought 80-77 victory over Saint Mary. A 10-2 fourth quarter run gave them the lead for good, 74-69, although USM got within 78-77 with 6.5 seconds left. Jill Stephens made 4 of 4 free throws in the final 14.1. Five Coyotes scored in double figures led by LaMyah Ricks with 16 and Odessa Ozuna 13. Hampton Williams had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
- The first game with Friends this season was tied at 52 after three quarters before KWU pulled away in the final 10 minutes. KWU took a 56-55 lead into the fourth quarter. Ricks scored 20, Angel Lee 16 and the Coyotes were 11 of 25 from 3-point range. Lee had 22 points, Ozuna 11 and Ricks and Paige Chauncey 10 each in the second game that was close throughout. Chauncey also had 10 rebounds.
- Balanced scoring is the key as seven Coyotes average between 12.1 and 6.7 points - Ricks 12.1, Lee 11.8, Williams 9.9, Stephens 9.6, Ozuna 8.8, Paige Chauncey 7.7 and Cat Bowman 6.7. KWU averages 76 points and allows 63.7. Williams pulls down a team-best 7.4 rebounds.
FRIENDS AT A GLANCE
- The Falcons stayed alive with a 68-66 come-from-behind victory over Bethel on Thursday in North Newton. They trailed 41-31 at halftime and were down 12 early in the third quarter. Abigail Barr scored 12 and Taylor Jackson had 15 and 10 rebounds. Friends is 5-5 in its last 10 games.
- Lauryn McIver scored 18 and Barr 17 but Jackson did not play in the first game against KWU in Wichita. Jackson had 22 points and 12 rebounds, McIver 18 points and Barr 14 in the second game in Mabee Arena.
- McIver averages a team-high 15.4 points followed by Jackson at 14.5, Barr 12.3 and Kori Babcock 10.4. Jackson also averages 12.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Friends averages 70.6 points and allows 64.0.