Women's Basketball advances to WHAC Semifinal with win over Cleary

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian women's basketball team kicked off the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament, taking on the Cleary Cougars. The Warriors were able to build up a solid 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter and stave off a late comeback attempt by the Cougars. The Warriors win their 20th game of the season for the first time since the 2022-2023 season, and improve to 20-9 overall. 

FIRST HALF

RCU opened with a quick 6-2 run with Samone Andrews, Jacey Somers, and Kendal Zeiter getting in the scoring column. After the two teams traded a couple of buckets, giving RCU a 10-8 lead, the Warriors closed out with a 9-3 run, with Somers hitting a three-pointer. 

The Warriors continued the scoring run, grabbing the first five points of the period with Mylah Aalse scoring a layup and Ashley Loon hitting a three. The Cleary defense would pick up the pace throughout the period, going the final 7:44 with a 12-7 run, closing the gap at the half down to eight points. 

SECOND HALF

Samone Andrews got the RCU first bucket of the period as the teams started to trade points back-and-forth. Amal Younes added a layup, and Jacey Somers and Ashley Loon each tallied another three-pointer to aid RCU out to a 22-point lead. Responding to a couple of Cleary buckets, Samone Andrew and Hacey Somers would combine to score eight of the final 12 RCU points in the quarter. 

Jacey Somers grabbed the first five points in the quarter as RCU moved out to a 18 point lead with 9:09 left in the game. Cleary would take advantage of missed RCU shots over the next 7:11 to climb back into the game, making it a 2-point game. An RCU timeout at 1:01 saw the Warriors draw up a play for Samone Andrews to hit a baseline jumper, breaking the 8:19 drought. RCU then would convert on five of the final six free throws to put the game on ice. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Three different Warriors led the way offensively, with Jacey Somers tallying a season-high 26 points, while Samone Andrews tallied 19 points, and Ashley Loon scored 11. Amal Younes and Shahd Bakkar each recorded four assists. 

Jacey Somers finished with a double-double, bringing down 10 rebounds in the game, while Kendal Zeiter was second with eight. Zeiter also blocked a trio of shots, while Samone Andrews and Shahd Bakkar each stole two passes. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors advance to the WHAC Semifinals and will host the Lourdes Grey Wolves on Friday, February 27, at 7 PM.