WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GETS BACK INTO THE WINNING COLUMN AGAINST AQUINAS

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - Women's Basketball (4-4, 1-1) secured its first conference win of the season with a victory at home against the Aquinas Saints (2-4, 0-2) on Tuesday night, 78-65. After a few games of poor shooting performances, the Warriors got back into a rhythm and lit things up in the first half.

Rochester saw multiple players post big days, including sophomore Ashley Loon, who put up 20 points. Senior Celeste Mershimer had a 16-8-3 stat line, while Imari Martin dished out 11 assists. Newcomers Jacey Somers and Grace Lodes also made significant contributions, and forward Melanie Moore grabbed 11 rebounds.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

• Both teams started out firing on all cylinders, with the Saints' Alona Blackwell scoring the Saints' first eight points. Ashley Loon got her big scoring night started with a three assisted by Imari Martin
• The Warriors gained the upper hand thanks to some big possessions from Martin and Loon. Martin would set Loon up for a floater before getting in the lane herself to give Rochester an eight-point lead
• Martin and Loon would connect for a Loon three-pointer, which helped set the Warriors' tone from deep for the rest of the half. Rochester shot 8-11 from beyond the arc, finding openings in the Saints' defense
• Freshman Jacey Somers helped grow the lead in a big way for the Warriors, hitting four threes in the second quarter. Somers herself went on a 9-0 run, helping Rochester go up by over 20
• Grace Lodes provided valuable bench minutes for the Warriors, crashing the glass on defense and getting a few tightly contested layups inside the paint. Rochester would slow down afterward but entered halftime leading 43-25

SECOND HALF

• Loon immediately continued her great offensive showing, hitting a three while being fouled to push Rochester back up 21
• After a quiet first half, senior Celeste Mershimer began to find a rhythm, setting up Lodes for an open layup on a no-look pass. Mershimer would hit a jumper later on, this time set up by Lodes. Mershimer had nine points in the third quarter
• Aquinas began to show improvement in the second half, with the team going inside and putting pressure at the rim. Blackwell and Ciara Hardy both found success in the paint, forcing the Warriors into a few defensive adjustments
• Rochester countered a brief Saints run with drives to the paint by Martin and Loon for tough layups. The Warriors also made several critical offensive rebounds in the final few minutes, halting the Saints' momentum

STAT OF THE GAME

It was a game of career highs - Imari Martin posted a career-high in assists with 11, while Jacey Somers recorded a career-high four blocks.

POSTGAME PRESSER

Head Coach Jared Ocampo had this to say on the win:

"Ultimately, we focused on turning defensive stops into offensive opportunities. We really emphasized finding open space off the ball, making ourselves available, letting the game come to us, and I thought we did that well tonight."

UP NEXT

The Warriors will get to recuperate over Thanksgiving break before traveling to Livonia to face the Madonna Crusaders (2-3, 0-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hanna Swanson - RU Athletics