Conference play is under way, and the women’s basketball team took on its first home conference game Saturday, Dec. 3. Ultimately, the matchup against the Bethany Swedes proved frustrating, as Friends struggled to play catchup until the final minutes.  The Falcons lost the game 50-65. 

Before the night’s action began, the Falcons knew they were at a disadvantage. Their senior post player, Kristen Welk, who averages 16 points a game, and was selected first team all-conference last season, was out of play for the night. She will be unable to play until after the Christmas break because of aggravation to a previous meniscus surgery.

However, the Falcons weren’t going to use her absence as an excuse. Instead, they stepped up to compensate for the lack of her presence on the court.

Friends started out shaky and found it difficult to find a rhythm.

Barely four minutes into the game Bethany had three turnovers, two of which were consecutive. Friends was plagued with numerous turnovers the rest of the night, as the Swedes scored 17 points off of turnovers.

The team’s biggest obstacle to defeating Bethany was its failure to rebound. The Falcons had 24 rebounds, while the Swedes finished with 40.

With 10 minutes left until the half, Friends trailed 12-19.

The Falcons continued to work hard as the game wore on, but the Swedes continued to wear on them as well.

“Physically we’re not stepping up as a whole. Sometimes I think they were just trying too hard instead of just doing the little things,” head coach Gayla Soyez said.

Trying to make plays forced the team into making bad shot selection.

However, Ashley Binford stood out Saturday night, shooting 50 percent from the field as well as from the three-point line.

Unfortunately, Binford’s nine points from the three-point range were not enough to keep the Falcons afloat. Bethany took the Falcons out of their game in rebounding, scoring 18 points off second-chance shots versus Friends’ two points.

As the game came to a close, Friends still trailed Bethany, ending the game 50-65.

“We need to look to who our shooters are and be more patient believing we can get the shot we want,” Soyez said.

Despite their conference home opener loss, the women came out with a victory over Bethel 53-44 Thursday, Dec 1.

“Bethel is a team that likes to push the ball, and we did a good job by getting back on transition. We played better defense than we did during the Bethany game,” Binford said.

Soyez said Bethel was a scrappy team that put a lot of pressure on the ball against Friends. Nevertheless, Friends battled and found a way to win the game.