WHAC SEMIFINAL PREVIEW: Women's Basketball set for rematch against Lourdes

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's basketball team advanced to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) semifinals to face off against the Lourdes Grey Wolves. The Warriors took down the Cleary Cougars in the quarterfinal round, with the Grey Wolves earning a win over Northwestern Ohio. 

GAME INFORMATION

#2 Rochester Christian Warriors vs #3 Lourdes

February 27 | 7 PM | Garth Pleasant Arena | Rochester Hills, MI

Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets

ABOUT THE GREY WOLVES

The Grey Wolves are led by Tandy Bradford, who is in her fifth season leading the Grey Wolves and has a 75-74 record while at Lourdes. 

Two players combined to average 40 points per game for Lourdes, with Kaylona Butler and Emma Pedroza averaging 20.6 and 19.9 points, respectively, which are second and third in the WHAC. Camryn Ivy is third on the team at 9.9 points per game. Emma Pedroza is also at the top of the team, averaging 4.1 assists per game, fourth in the WHAC, to only 2.7 turnovers per game. 

Tamyah Worthy is the top rebounder on the team, pulling down 7.1 rebounds per game, with Emma Pedroza averaging 6.5 per game. Tamyah Worth, Kaylona Butler, and Emma Pedroza are all top-10 in the WHAC in steals per game at 3.0, 2.0, and 1.9, respectively. Camryn Ivy is fourth in the WHAC in blocks per game with 1.1. 

ABOUT THE WARRIORS

The Warriors are led by Head Coach Jared Ocampo, who is in his third season leading the Warriors. Ocampo has an overall record of 44-43 at RCU. 

Four different Warriors led the scoring effort for RCU, with Kendal Zeiter leading the group, averaging 13.1 points per game, while Samone Andrews contributed 12.9, Jacey Somers with 12.1, and Ashley Loon putting up 10.2 a game. Loon sits at third in the conference in three-point percentage, hitting 40.0% of her attempts from deep. Amal Younes leads the passing attack as she averages three assists per game, while only turning over the ball 1.6 times a game. 

The rebounding effort for RCU is led by Kendal Zeiter, who averages 8.3 rebounds a game, with six coming on the defensive end. Jacey Somers is second on the team as she averages 5.4 a game. Five different Warriors average over a steal per game, with Shahd Bakkar (1.6) leading the group, with Samone Andrews (1.5), Ashley Loon (1.3), Amal Younes (1.3), and Kendal Zeiter (1.1) all averaging over a steal per game. Kendal Zeiter and Jacey Somers both average over a block a game, as they are third and fourth in the conference, respectively, with Zeiter blocking 1.8 a game and Somers blocking 1.1. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)

The Warriors own the all-time series between these two teams with a record of 15-6, with Lourdes earning wins in the last three games. Lourdes also holds the only postseason win between these teams, winning in the 2020-2021 Quarterfinal round. 

These teams first met back on November 25, with Lourdes earning a 72-54 win. Lourdes' Emma Pedroza and Kaylona Butler led the game with 24 and 23 points, respectively, while Kendal Zeiter and Mylah Aalse led RCU with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Lourdes also won the turnover battle, only turning it over 12 times as opposed to RCU's 22 times. 

The second matchup of these teams came 22 days ago, with Lourdes coming away with a 71-63 win. Samone Andrews would lead the game in scoring with 23 points, but all five of the Grey Wolves' starters would tally double digits, led by Kaylona Butler with 19 points. Lourdes was once again able to force 22 RCU turnovers. 

WHAC HONORS

STAT COMPARISON

QUARTERFINAL RECAP

The Warriors were able to outlast the upset-looking Cougars, who put up a late comeback attempt, but RCU was able to come away with a 67-58 win. Jacey Somers led all scorers in the game with 26 points, with Samone Andrews tallying 19. RCU shot well from deep, shooting 36.8% with Jacey Somers hitting four three's and Ashley Loon hitting three. 

Lourdes controlled the lead throughout the game and would come out with a 71-62 victory over the Northwestern Ohio Racers. UNOH's Brooke Asher put up 24 points in the game, but the Grey Wolves' defense was able to force 20 turnovers en route to the win. 

WHAC TOURNAMENT

The top 8 teams in the regular-season standings qualify

Higher seeds host in all rounds

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 25

G1    #1 Indiana Tech def. #8 Cornerstone, 97-45

G2    #5 Siena Heights def. #4 Aquinas, 60-45

G3    #3 Lourdes def. #6 UNOH, 71-62

G4    #2 Rochester Christian def. #7 Cleary, 67-48

Semifinals - Friday, February 27

G5    #1 Indiana Tech vs #5 Siena Heights - 6PM

G6    #2 Rochester Christian vs. #3 Lourdes - 7PM

Championship - Monday, March 2

G7    Winner G5 vs Winner G6