Story provided by Friends Athletics

WICHITA, Kan. - A busy week ended with a trio of accolades for the Friends University Women's Basketball team. The Falcons clinched the KCAC Regular Season Championship, their coach earned conference win No. 100 and Shann Sellers(SR/Dallas, Texas) set the NAIA single-season steals record.

#14 FRIENDS 74, OTTAWA 68

During the first quarter, neither team could pull ahead by much, with the two combining for six ties and six lead changes, with the score Friends leading 16-15 after the period.

There was more scoring in the second quarter lead by Shann Sellers. She had 20 points at halftime, with 10 points in each quarter. Ottawa wasn't going away easy though, leading 38-35 going into the locker room. The Falcons closed the period on a 6-0 run though, including a Sellers layup at the buzzer.

The third period is where the game changed in favor of the Falcons. It started 28 seconds into the period with a 3 point basketball made by April Quiroz (JR/El Paso, Texas) with the assist by Shann Sellers. From there they would go on a 10-2 run to the 5:50 mark in the quarter. They outscored Ottawa by eight points in the period and took a 55-50 lead going into the fourth quarter.

In the final period, the Braves responded by closing the gap to 61-60 with 4:31 remaining. The Falcons had a 9-2 run for themselves after that with 46 seconds left.Lexi Evans (SO/Austin, Texas) made a few trips to the foul line at the end, going 4-5 and wrapping the game up winning 74-68.

The star of the night was Sellers as she loaded the stat sheet up with a double-double and was one steal away from a triple-double. Sellers had 30 points, 17 rebounds and nine steals.

The team despite being outshot from the field, 42.0% to 51.1% from the field.

The win was No. 100 in KCAC play for Falcon Head Coach RaeAnne Boothe.

#14 FRIENDS 71, SOUTHWESTERN 50

Southwestern turned the ball over on their first four possessions in what would become a familiar theme for the game. The Falcons took advantage by starting the game on a 7-0 run. The Moundbuilders closed to within three (7-4) with back-to-back scores, but Friends responded with a 9-0 burst of their own, with four different Falcons scoring. That 12-point lead would be the same margin at the end of the first.

After a Falcon free throw, Southwestern reeled off six straight points and got as close as five (31-26) with 48 seconds left in the half. Betty Akathiotou (JR/Nicosia, Cyprus) finished off the scoring in the period with a jumper as Friends led 33-26 at the break.

Friends quickly pushed the lead back up to 13 out of the locker room with a 6-0 run, but they were up just nine (50-41) heading into the final period as the offense came up empty over the final 2:59 of the quarter.

It was another run (7-0 this time) to start the final period that put Friends up 16 with 6:33 remaining (58-42). Yowanna Posey (JR/Chicago, Ill.) would hit just her third 3-pointer of the season to finalize the scoring in the 71-50 win.

Sellers had another huge game, recording the program's first career triple-double, recording 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals. She added in six assists. The steals total gave Sellers 162 on the season, breaking the NAIA Division II single-season record of 160 set back in 1993.

Posey notched her second career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Falcons forced 33 Southwestern turnovers, using them to score 36 of their points. They also dominated the offensive boards (22-9), and outscored the Moundbuilders 25-6 in second chance points.

With the win, the Falcons secured the KCAC Regular Season Championship and clinched an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. It will be the sixth trip to the tournament under Coach Boothe.

Friends hits the road for the final time in the regular season on Thursday, February 16^th when they travel to Lindsborg to take on Bethany. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm after the JV games.