CARDINALS’ HOT SHOOTING DOWNS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Women's Basketball (3-4, 0-1) couldn't overcome a great shooting performance by the Concordia Cardinals (3-2, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon, 88-65. Rochester was victim to a spectacular three-point shooting start for the Cardinals, who started the game 8-11 from deep.

Freshman Jacey Somers led the scoring for the Warriors with 26, while Mershimer was the only other Warrior in double-digits with 16. Concordia's Taylor Leatherman recorded 24 points while grabbing eight rebounds, while guard Abby Long posted 14 points and five assists.

Offensive rhythm seemed absent for Rochester, who found itself down big early with few shots going in. Additionally, the team had trouble getting into offensive sets throughout the contest.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

• After the game started 11-7 in favor of the Cardinals, Concordia went on a 10-0 run to open things up. Cardinal Taylor Leatherman scored nine in the period, while Warrior Jacey Somers matched with nine of her own
• The second quarter was a tough one for Rochester, outscored 30-14. Fields goals were hard to come by, although junior Imari Martin would make some gritty plays on the offensive glass to get Rochester a layup to stop the bleeding momentarily
• Senior Celeste Mershimer and sophomore Melanie Moore would make scoring contributions, but Rochester struggled to match the three-point shooting of the Cardinals, who went up by as much as 36. Martin would beat the buzzer on a layup to end the first half

SECOND HALF

• Rochester showed some fight to begin the second half, with newcomers Somers and Shahd Bakkar getting scores early to trim the deficit. Both teams entered a three-minute scoring drought at 77-51
• Mershimer and Martin had strong third quarters, with both making defensive plays while Martin scored seven points. Mershimer would record a steal, block, and an assist on a three-pointer by Ashley Loon. Mershimer also got a transition layup thanks to a steal by junior Grace Lodes
• Somers recorded two threes in the fourth quarter, both in quick succession. Mershimer would find her open for the second one to help trim the big lead. However, Concordia would keep the lead above 20 the remainder of the game

STAT OF THE GAME

The offensive end was a tale of two teams, with Concordia shooting 49.1% from the field to the Warriors' 33.9%. Rochester was also out-assisted 20-6

POSTGAME PRESSER

Head Coach Jared Ocampo had this to say on Saturday's loss:

"We played a very good Concordia team today. We knew we had to make it tough for [Abby Long] and [Taylor Leatherman]. It was evident we struggled to get stops on the defensive end, and we struggled rebounding the ball. We have to defend better; that is the bottom line.

Resiliency is one of our core values, and every day, we emphasize how important it is not to allow missed assignments and poor decisions with the ball to affect the next possession. We will continue to exercise our resiliency and bounce back Tuesday against Aquinas."

UP NEXT

Rochester will return home after a long time away before Thanksgiving, where the team will face Aquinas (2-2, 0-0) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image Courtesy of Concordia Cardinal Athletics