WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 4, 2008) - Senior
Jennifer Musgrove would light up the court with her ninth
double-double of the season on the way to a 72-53 victory over the
Florida Southern Moccasins in the Sunshine State Conference
quarterfinal match on Tuesday night. With the win, the Tars climb
to 19-9, and 9-8 in conference play, while the Mocs end their 2008
season with a final record of 15-13, 7-10.
Musgrove led the Tars with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and five
assists for the evening. Her 16 boards marked a new career high, as
well as a season game high for the team. Three other Tars scored in
double digits with Erin Kirkwood leading the trio posting 14
points. Kirkwood shot 3-4 in field goals, a perfect 2-2 from long
range, and would sink 6-8 from the charity stripe.
Junior Rachael Malatesta and sophomore Jessica Pressley would
tally 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Tars, with Malatesta
shooting a perfect 2-2 from the line, and sinking 5-6 field goals
and 1-2 from beyond the arc.
Rollins started out the game by pulling ahead to a six point
lead with a little under fifteen minutes left in the half. But the
Mocs battled their way back in just three minutes out-shooting the
Tars 7-1 to even up the score at 11 with a little less than 12
minutes left.
The Tars would flounder in the following minutes, watching a
determined Florida Southern team pull ahead to an 11 point lead two
times in the remainder of the half, and entered into the halftime
break with the Mocs holding the reigns at 33-27.
Rollins came out of the break with all pistons firing, coming
back from a six point deficit to tie up the game three and a half
minutes in. The score changed hands three times within the
following minute, but with 15:19 left in the half, Rachael
Malatesta would sink two good throws from the charity stripe to
hand Rollins the lead for good.
The women advanced to a four point lead in the next thirty
seconds and didn't look back for the remainder of the game, pulling
ahead to a 19 point lead by the end of the half. The Tars out-shot
the Mocs in both field goals (39.7% to 31.1%) and 3 pointers (43.8%
to 40.0%), but fell behind the Mocs at the line shooting only 68.8%
compared to Florida Southern's 75.0%.
The Tars will be on the road for their next game on Saturday,
March 8, when they travel to the University of Tampa to take on the
Spartans in the SSC Semifinal match. Tip-off is slated for 7:30
p.m. Fans can catch the action live on the Citizens Bank of Florida
Tars Sports Network at www.RollinsSports.tv, and on
91.5 WPRK, Winter Park.
