SEASON PREVIEW: Women's Basketball set to begin season

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's basketball team is set to begin its regular season on Wednesday, October 29, when they travel to Dearborn, Michigan, to face off against Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opponent Michigan-Dearborn. Head Coach Jared Ocampo is in his third season guiding the Warriors. 

2024-2025 SEASON REVIEW

The Warriors finished last season 10-19 overall and 9-10 in WHAC play. In the conference play, the team was able to pick up a win against Northwestern Ohio, who, at the time, was receiving votes in the NAIA coaches poll. RCU would wind up finishing ninth in the regular season in the WHAC, putting them against Cleary in the WHAC Opening Round, where Cleary would have the advantage, winning 80-66. 

2025-2026 SCHEDULE OUTLOOK

The Warriors began their season last weekend with an exhibition against Alma, where they won 80-49. Following the Wednesday match against Michigan-Dearborn, the Warriors will have a week and a half off before their next contest. 

November begins with a trio of non-conference games, with two of them occurring at home. November 8 will officially be the home-opener against #RV Huntington, and that match will be followed by Spring Arbor coming to town on November 12. RCU will then head to Mishawaka, Indiana, for a matchup against Bethel (IN) on November 15. Getting back into the conference season, RCU will take on Defiance College on the 18th, followed by the final two games of the month being a home game against Northwestern Ohio (Nov. 22) and a road matchup with Lourdes (Nov. 25).

December will begin with three home conference matchups against Aquinas (Dec. 3), #17 Indiana Tech (Dec. 6), and Cornerstone (Dec. 13). The Warriors will then head down to Daytona Beach, Florida, to compete in a pair of games at the Daytona Beach Classic. RCU will first take on #16 Carroll (MT) on December 17, before rounding out the classic with Kansas Wesleyan on December 18. Following a short Christmas break, the Warriors head to Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a contest against #8 Saint Francis on the 27th. 2025 rounds out with an exhibition against Detroit Mercy on December 29. 

The New Year begins on January 3 with a game at Cleary. The Warriors return home after nearly a month for a pair of matchups against Siena Heights and Madonna on January 7 and 10, respectively. Next, the Warriors will travel to Lawrence Tech (Jan. 14) and Northwestern Ohio (Jan. 17) before a home game against Defiance (Jan. 21). The final two road games of the month will have RCU heading to #17 Indiana Tech on Jan. 24 and Aquinas on Jan. 28. The month closes out with Michigan-Dearborn on the 31st. 

The final month of the regular season opens with a home game against Lourdes on February 4th. The Warriors will then head to the west side of the state for a game against Cornerstone on Feb. 7, before heading to Siena Heights on Feb. 11. The final two home games will be against Cleary (Feb. 14) and Lawrence Tech (Feb. 18). The regular season concludes with a trip to Madonna on Feb. 21. 

Following the regular season, the top-8 teams in the WHAC qualify for the WHAC Tournament on February 25, 27, and March 2. If the Warriors qualify for the National Tournament, the Opening Rounds will be March 13-14, with the National Championship Tournament on March 19-24. 

ROCHESTER CHRISTIAN PERSONNEL

Head Coach Jared Ocampo is in his third season leading the Warriors and his fifth total season on the coaching staff. Assisting Ocampo are Amy Zink, Arthur Asberry, and James Rogers.

The Warriors have 20 players on the roster this season, with a breakdown of four seniors, two juniors, eight sophomores, and five freshmen. 

The seniors consist of Ashley Loon, Karmyn Lowry, Melanie Moore, and Kendal Zeiter. Loon was third on the team in points last season, averaging 8.4 per game. 

The pair of juniors is Shahd Bakkar and Jacey Somers. Somers led the team, averaging 14.6 points per game last season, while Bakkar was third on the team last year in assists per game, averaging 2 assists. 

The team's eight sophomores are Mylah Aalse, Samone Andrews, Alaina Kellenberger, Savannah Laurenty, Emily Lockey, Jordan Peterson, Chloe Sakalas, and Tambre Williams. Andrews was top on the team last season, averaging 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game, while Williams was fourth on the team with 4.8 rebounds a game. 

The five freshmen are Raegan Collins, Lucy Freytag, Rihanna Reeves, Amal Younes, and Reagan Zeiter. 

2024-2025 TEAM STATISTICS

2025-2026 WHAC PRESEASON POLL

The Warriors placed fifth in the WHAC preseason poll that was released on October 15. The Warriors garnered 94 points in the vote.

Indiana Tech leads the table with 138 points, with eight of the 12 first-place votes. Aquinas and Lourdes also received first-place votes with three and one vote, respectively. Aquinas had 128 points, while Lourdes received 117. Cornerstone rounded out the top 5 with 107 points. 

The remainder of the WHAC was Northwestern Ohio (87 points), Siena Heights (64), Cleary (63), Madonna (58), Lawrence Tech (37), Defiance (25), Michigan-Dearborn (18).