The Rockhurst women's basketball team (5-8, 1-4 GLVC) returns to Mason-Halpin Field House for conference games Thursday vs. Southern Indiana (5:30 p.m.) and Saturday vs. Bellarmine (1:00 p.m.). The Hawks fell to William Jewell, 72-51, in their previous contest, and will look to regain the offensive mojo they had while putting up 75 points against Missouri S&T and 74 at Quincy in recent games.
Madeline Ronshausen continues to be the catalyst offensively, averaging 16.2 points per game (fourth-highest total in the GLVC). The junior guard from St. Louis ranks third in the league with 30 made 3-pointers (2.31 per game).
Rockhurst holds the second-highest 3-point percentage in the GLVC (.366) led by Ronshausen and fellow sharpshooters
Briahtia Sebek and
Marisa Lowe. Defensively, center
Rachel Holden ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per game at 1.25.
Southern Indiana enters Thursday's game with a record of 11-4 (4-1 GLVC), fresh off a 75-49 win over Quincy on Saturday. The Screaming Eagles bring a balanced offensive attack that averages 74.9 points per game, led by Alex Davidson (13.2 pg), Kacy Eschweiler (11.8 pg), Imani Guy (10.9 pg), Emma DeHart (9.5 pg) and Ashley Johnson (9.5 pg).
The Eagles and Hawks will feature contrasting styles as Rockhurst relies on the 3-pointer, while USI does much of its damage inside the arc. Of the Eagles' 422 made field goals this season, 346 are 2-pointers (82 percent).
The Bellarmine Knights come to Mason-Halpin this Saturday with a record of 8-5 (2-3 GLVC). The Knights went 1-1 last week, defeating Quincy 73-66 last Thursday, then falling to Truman State 65-49 on Saturday.
Bellarmine is anchored by three players averaging double figures: Mikayla Berry (11.5 pg), Lauren Deel (10.8 pg) and Liza Tibbs (10.5 pg). The Knights have enjoyed advantages in rebound margin (+3.6 pg) and turnover margin (+3.4 pg), both of which are areas Rockhurst is looking to improve. The Hawks will need to take care of the basketball to have a chance at upending Bellarmine, which forces 22.5 turnovers per game.
Both games will be streaming on glvcsn.com and the GLVCSN mobile app. Live stats are available on rockhursthawks.com.
