BOCA RATON, Fla. – Junior Jessica
Pressley led the eighth-ranked Rollins women's basketball team
with 14 points as the Tars escaped Lynn University with a 53-51
victory, Wednesday evening at the de Hoernle Center.
Pressley paced the Tars (14-0, 5-0 Sunshine State Conference)
shooting 4-of-11 from 3-point range and grabbing four rebounds with
two assists. Senior Ines
Teuma recorded a career-high 16 boards and finished with five
points in the winning effort.
Leading the way for the Fighting Knights (11-4, 2-2 SSC) was
Chelsea Patterson, who scored a game-best 16 points, while Jade
Williams netted 12.
The Tars quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead as a Paris
Moore lay-in preceded a Brittainy
Daiger lay-up a minute and half into the contest. The Knights
responded with two-straight basket to tie the game at the 16:49
mark.
Tied at four, Rollins went on a 5-0 run after Teuma powered
herself through Lynn's defense to score on a lay-in, while Pressley
capitalized on a Knight turnover on the next possession with one of
her four 3-pointers.
Trailing by five at 15-10 with 13:15 remaining, the Knights went
on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 18-15 with 8:43
left until intermission.
After forcing two Lynn turnovers, the Tars erased the deficit to
tie the game at 20 and eventually built its largest lead of the
half at 30-22 with just over a minute to play on a Kourtnie
Berry 3-pointer from the left side. After a made basket from
Lynn's Williams, Teuma went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe with one
second remaining to give the Tars the seven-point edge into the
locker room.
The Knights opened the second half at the free throw line
following a Daiger foul, but Madeleine Doyle was able to score the
second free throw attempt trim the Tars lead to six with 18:52 to
play. After going back-and-forth for the next five minutes, the
Tars increased its lead to a game-high nine points at 42-33 with
13:24 left.
Again, the Knights would come back and cut the lead back down to
four after a 3-pointer from Patterson just over the four-minute
mark. Lynn would keep the score close in the remaining five
minutes, but after two free throws from Moore; the Tars built their
lead back to seven with 48 seconds remaining.
Nine seconds later, Crystal Ahmed dropped a 3-pointer from the
corner for Lynn to cut the lead to four. After a Tar's missed free
throw on the one-and-one, Patterson was fouled and converted on two
free throws the cut the lead in half with 23 seconds left.
A Knight's foul put Moore at the free throw line for Rollins as
she sank the first of her two free throws, but was unable to score
the second to increase the lead back to three at 52-49 with 21
seconds remaining.
Lynn's Patterson sank two more free throws on the ensuing
possession, but the Tars would sink one of their two free throws
with four seconds on the clock and the desperation 3-pointer by
Patterson fell well short to secure the Tars victory.
Rollins continued its relentless defense holding Lynn to a 29.0
percent shooting percentage and 16.0 percent from the 3-point
line. The Tars forced 21 turnovers, despite being out-rebounded
by Lynn, 47-44. The bench for Rollins out-scored the Knight's,
14-5.
The Tars return to action when they travel to Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., for another Sunshine State Conference matchup against Nova
Southeastern, Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.
