ROCHESTER TRAVELS TO GRAND RAPIDS FOR MATCHUP AGAINST CORNERSTONE

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Warriors (11-3, 6-2) will kick off an important week in conference play with a trip to Mol Arena to take on the Cornerstone Golden Eagles (8-6, 4-4) on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. for the first matchup between the teams since Rochester's 76-66 win in the 2022-23 WHAC Tournament.

THREE KEY THINGS

ELDERS CONTINUES LEGENDARY CAREER

In his 31st year as Head Coach of the Golden Eagles, Kim Elders looks to lead Cornerstone to another WHAC Tournament berth. Elders is currently the 2nd winningest coach in the NAIA amongst active coaches at 758 wins, trailing William Carey University's Steve Knight, who sits at 763.

ELITE GUARD MATCHUP

Two of the WHAC's top point guards, Gunner Walters and Eli Steffen, will be squaring off on Wednesday evening. Steffen and Walters are among the NAIA's top distributors, and both are formidable scorers and defenders. The pair are also elite in efficiency metrics, with two of the country's highest assist/turnover ratio averages.

WARRIORS LOOK FOR CRUCIAL WIN

After falling to Indiana Tech last weekend, Rochester will look for an important bounce-back win as they enter a critical stretch of conference games. Last season, Rochester was defeated in Mol Arena 70-57 before defeating the Golden Eagles twice at home. The Warriors capitalized on strong interior defense and limiting turnovers in those wins.

COACH'S CORNER

Head Coach Klint Pleasant had this to say on matching up with Cornerstone:

"Cornerstone shoots it well and has multiple ways they can score, including a good big man. We will have to be very dialed in, focused, and intentional on the defensive end."

SPORTS INFORMATION SPOTLIGHT

With tomorrow's game, the Warriors have a chance to even the all-time series against the Golden Eagles at 5-5.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Three teams sit at 7-1 atop of the WHAC, with #14 Lourdes holding the edge over Madonna after winning in OT against the Crusaders in the Russell J. Ebeid Center. Rochester sits in fourth at 6-2, with the two losses coming against Madonna and the third 7-1 team, Indiana Tech.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hanna Swanson - RU Athletics