WARRIORS EARN BIG ROAD WIN AGAINST AQUINAS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It was another phenomenal performance from Rochester's (9-10, 6-7) senior guard Celeste Mershimer on Wednesday night, who was one rebound shy of a triple-double to help the Warriors secure an 81-76 win against the Aquinas Saints (8-11, 5-8).

Mershimer logged 22 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds during the contest. Alongside her were forwards Jacey Somers and Melanie Moore, who combined for 29 points and 13 rebounds. Impressively, seven of Moore's eight rebounds were on the offensive end. Off the bench, guard Dakotah Krohn contributed 12 points, while the Saints were led by forward Alona Blackwell, who scored 23 points.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

• It was arguably the best first quarter of the season for the Warriors, who scored 28 points on efficient shooting, with Mershimer logging six assists. Somers and Moore found opportunities both inside and outside, while Krohn nailed both of her threes to get Rochester going
• The second quarter played out evenly, with the Warriors cooling off from outside. However, Rochester held the Saints to 1-10 shooting from the field and six turnovers.

SECOND HALF

• The Saints began to climb back into the contest with a strong third quarter, forcing free throws by driving the lane. However, Rochester got productive minutes from forward Grace Lodes, who secured two important offensive rebounds that led to Warrior scores
• Rochester saw the pressure get amped up by the Saints, but Mershimer answered big time - the guard had ten points in the quarter, shooting 100% from the free-throw line to keep Rochester ahead. Moore and Krohn provided a surge with two steals each and big-time offensive plays to help secure the Warriors an important victory

POSTGAME PRESSER

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

"I give a lot of credit to our defensive efforts. I emphasized our ability to control what we can control and adjust to the calls being made. We felt good about our execution on the defensive end, which allowed us to execute what we emphasized on the offensive end: attacking with a purpose.

We were able to get to the cup, we were able to utilize our posts, and we made a lot of hard cuts that resulted in great looks for us. It was an all-around solid team performance tonight; our girls certainly grinded it out toward the end and earned that win."

STAT OF THE GAME

Mershimer's 11 assists are a career-high, and the second time the guard has had double-digit assists - the first time was the Warriors' Nov. 5 win over UC Merced where Meshimer dished out 10.

UP NEXT

Rochester will travel on Saturday to face off with Michigan-Dearborn (1-18, 0-13) on Jan. 27 at 1 p.m.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hanna Swanson - RU Athletics