NAIA FIRST ROUND PREVIEW: Women's Basketball set for first tournament appearance since 2023

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's basketball team is preparing for the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball First Round presented by Ballogy on Friday evening as they head down to southern Ohio to take on the #8 Rio Grande Red Storm. The Warriors are making their fourth appearance in the NAIA Tournament and their first since the 2022-2023 season. 

GAME INFORMATION

#15 Rochester Christian Warriors vs #2 Rio Grande Red Storm

March 13 | 6 PM | Newt Olvier Arena / Rio Grande, OH

Live Video | Live Stats

ABOUT THE RED STORM

David Smalley leads the Red Storm and is in his 34th season at the helm of the program. Smalley has an overall record of 732-347 and is in the top-5 of active coaches' wins in the NAIA. 

All five of the Red Storm starters average double digit points as they are led by River States Conference Player of the Year Marlee Grinstead with 17.7 points per game with Allie Ellyson (14.2), Sophina Kline (12.1), Payton Johnson (11.5), and Josie Graves (10.0) as the nation's second-best offense scores 94.6 points per game. Rio Grande senior guard, Marina Garcia Perez, leads the nation, averaging 9.7 assists per game and holds a 2.9 assist/turnover ratio. 

Sophia Kline is one of the nation's top rebounders with 10 rebounds per game, while Josie Graves brings down 6.9 as Rio Grande is the 10th-best rebounding team in the NAIA. Marina Garcia Perez and Marlee Grinstead both are some of the top defenders in the country as well, averaging 2.4 and 2.3 steals per game, while Sophia Kline is the sixth-best blocker in the NAIA at 2.3 per game. 

RIO GRANDE'S ROAD TO THE TOURNAMENT

The Red Storm once again are one of the top teams in the NAIA, boasting a 30-1 overall record on the season, and are winners in their last 21 games. They earned the top seed in the River States Conference and won a record-breaking fifth straight RSC Tournament Championship. The Red Storm are making their 13 appearance in the NAIA Tournament. 

Rio Grande is 3-1 in games this season against teams mentioned in the NAIA Coaches Poll, with their sole loss on the season coming to Marian when they were the fifth-ranked team. The Red Storm took down #7 Lewis-Clark State in November by a score of 81-73. 

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 45-44 at RCU. 

Four different Warriors led the scoring effort for RCU, with Samone Andrews leading the group, averaging 13.1 points per game, while Kendal Zeiter contributed 12.7, Jacey Somers with 12.3, and Ashley Loon putting up 10.1 a game. Loon sits at 32nd in the NAIA in three-point percentage, hitting 38.9% of her attempts from deep. Amal Younes leads the passing attack as she averages three assists per game, while only turning over the ball 1.7 times a game. 

The rebounding effort for RCU is led by Kendal Zeiter, who averages 8.0 rebounds a game, with 5.8 coming on the defensive end. Jacey Somers is second on the team as she averages 5.3 a game. Five different Warriors average over a steal per game, with Shahd Bakkar (1.7) leading the group, with Samone Andrews (1.5), Ashley Loon (1.4), Amal Younes (1.2), and Kendal Zeiter (1.1) all averaging over a steal per game. Kendal Zeiter and Jacey Somers both average over a block a game, with Zeiter blocking 1.8 a game (8th in the NAIA) and Somers blocking 1.1. 

ROCHESTER CHRISTIANS ROAD TO THE TOURNAMENT

The RCU Warriors completed the season with a 21-10 overall record and earned the number two-seed in the WHAC Tournament with an 18-4 record. 

RCU earned a 2-4 record this season, with the two ranked wins coming against #20 Indiana Tech and #24 Carroll in overtime. The Warriors also took down NCAA Division 1 Detroit Mercy in an exhibition game in late December. The Warriors are 8-2 in their past 10 games. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)

This meeting will be the fifth matchup in both programs' history against each other, with Rio Grande holding wins in the previous four games. 

STAT COMPARISON

NAIA FIRST-ROUND

64 teams across the NAIA will appear in the NAIA Tournament when the First & Second Rounds begin on Friday, across 16 different host sites. Rio Grande will be the host team for this pod that fetures #2 Rio Grande, #7 Cumberlands, #10 Indiana Wesleyan, and #15 Rochester Christian. 

Quarterfinals - Friday, March 13

G1 - #15 Rochester Christian vs. #2 Rio Grande (OH) - 6 PM

G2 - #7 Cumberlands vs. #10 Indiana Wesleyan - 8 PM

Semifinals - Saturday, March 14

G3 - Winner of G1 & G2 - 7 PM

WHAC HONORS

RSC HONORS