WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREPARES FOR HOME MATCHUP AGAINST MICHIGAN-DEARBORN

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. - It'll be a holly-jolly day in Garth Pleasant Arena on Saturday, with Rochester (5-5, 2-2) playing its final home game of the 2023 calendar year ahead of Christmas break. The Warriors will be host to the Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines (1-8, 0-4) in the season's first matchup between the teams.

THREE KEY THINGS

ROCHESTER LOOKS TO FIND CONSISTENCY

The Warriors have had a very up-and-down season to this point, with the team recently defeating the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils at home, 65-59. In that game, Rochester put itself ahead by double-digits, before halting a run by the Blue Devils in the final quarter.

The Warriors will look to use the momentum from that win to begin a winning streak, starting with Saturday's contest. Rochester has found itself trading wins for losses early on and will want to break the cycle before winter break.

BARAKAT CONTINUES BREAKOUT SEASON

Senior Maya Barakat will lead the way for the Wolverines, who's had a spectacular final season, doubling her points and rebounds per game. In addition, Barakat leads the conference in per-game rebounding at 10.6, headlined by a career-high 24 rebounds in a loss to Madonna on Dec. 2. In that game, Barakat also contributed 19 points.

MERSHIMER AND MARTIN HEAT UP

The Lawrence Tech contest was a big one for Rochester's veteran guards; Celeste Mershimer and Imari Martin combined for 30 points while playing strong defense. Both have begun to find their stride at this point in the season and will look to be vital components of Rochester's game plan on Saturday.

COACH'S CORNER

Head Coach Jared Ocampo had this to say on the gameplan for Saturday's contest:

"We have told our group all week it's important to do our work early and often. It's one thing to emphasize keeping Barakat off the boards. It's another thing to emphasize how to do it. She does a good job staying active, so we must match her activity and do our work early while collectively buying into grabbing the ball off the rim. If we can commit to our discipline and execute the things we have worked on in practice, we will find success."

SPORTS INFORMATION SPOTLIGHT

Mershimer and Martin have been a dynamic duo on both ends of the floor - the pair rank second and third in the conference in steals per game, respectively.

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

#RV Indiana Tech and Concordia remain undefeated in conference play, while Siena Heights trails behind by one game. Cornerstone sits at 3-1 and will look to hand Indiana Tech its first loss of the season on Saturday.

Hussein Murray - RU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Hanna Swanson - RU Athletics