Women's Basketball earns second top-25 upset of December, improves to 4-game win streak

(Daytona Beach, FL) - The Rochester Christian women's basketball team headed down south to Florida for a pair of games at the Daytona Beach Classic. The Warriors' first contest of the game had them go up against #24 Carroll (MT). A strong fourth quarter gave the Warriors an opportunity to tie the game up on an Ashley Loon layup with two seconds remaining.

The Warriors move to 7-4 on the year overall and pick up their second top-25 upset win in as many weeks. 

FIRST HALF

Carroll had the first points of the game off a pair of free throws before Ashley Loon hit her first opportunity of the game. The next four minutes had Carroll going on a 6-0 run to go up 9-3. Kendal Zeiter broke the streak and hit the final two shots of the quarter for the Warriors.

The first two and a half minutes had Carroll making a 9-0 run with a couple of threes before Kendal Zeiter hit her own three-pointer. The two teams continued to play strong defense on both ends, going scoreless over the next three minutes before Zeiter broke the drought with a layup. Amal Younes would then grab her first point of the game with a free throw. Jacey Somers brought RCU to within five at the end of the half with a buzzer-beater jump shot.

SECOND HALF

Both offenses seemed to wake up following halftime, with each team scoring six points over the first two minutes, with Samone Andrews and Mylah Aalse hitting threes. The two teams continued to trade buckets throughout the third period, with the Warriors getting scores from Jacey Somers, Amal Younes, and Kendal Zeiter, with Somers hitting another basket before the buzzer sounded to make it an 8-point game. 

The final regulation period had Jacey Somers making a jump shot for a six-point game. After a quick pair of Carroll baskets to put the lead back to 10, Tambre Williams recorded an "and-1," and Somers hit two free throws to bring the lead back to five. Carroll added four more points on the next two possessions before RCU ended the period on a 10-0 run, tying the game. Ashley Loon scored eight of the last 10 points on two three-pointers, including the tying shot with 12 seconds left. 

OVERTIME

The final five minutes began with Kendal Zeiter scoring a layup as the Fighting Saints were unable to hit their shots. Jacey Somers would then go on to force a Carroll timeout by making back-to-back buckets and give the Warriors a 6-point lead. Out of the timeout, Carroll was able to hit a three-pointer to draw them closer, though Zeiter and Somers were both able to knock down their free throws as the Warriors were able to prevail in OT. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Three different Warriors scored in double figures for RCU as they were led by Kendal Zeiter with 17, while Jacey Somers scored 16 off the bench and Ashley Loon recorded 11. Amal Younes assisted on four buckets while Shahd Bakkar assisted on three.

Kendal Zeiter led the team once again in the rebound department with 15, tallying her three straight double-double. Jacey Somers brought down nine rebounds in the game as well. Samone Andrews and Shahd Bakkar led the team with four and three steals, respectively, and Zeiter had five blocks in the game. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will be back in action next Saturday, closing out their 2025 home schedule against Cornerstone University with a 1 PM tip-off.