WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 4, 2008) –
Junior guard Jessica
Pressley led the Tars with 15 points on the way to their eighth
conference win of the season on Wednesday evening at Warden Arena
as Rollins prevailed over the Saint Leo University Lions 71-61.
The 18th-ranked Tars (18-2, 8-2 SSC) got back to their winning
ways after a heartbreaking loss to Florida Southern over the
weekend, while the Lions drop to 9-11, 1-9 in Sunshine State
Conference action.
Joining Pressley in double-figures was senior guard Rachael
Malatesta with 11 points on the evening. Malatesta shot 80
percent (4-5) from the field, 3-4 from long range, while Pressley
tacked up 57 percent from the floor, draining 50 percent of her
trey's for the evening. Both Pressley and freshman Paris
Moore went 4-6 from the charity stripe to help the Tars to
their 10-point final lead.
Dominique Daniels led a trio of scorers in double figures for
the Lions with 17 points, walking away from the night with a
double-double as she collected 10 rebounds as well. Behind
Daniels, Whitley Washington and Marquita Fenn notched 14 and 13
points respectively to help keep Saint Leo in contention.
The Tars out-shot their opponent in three-pointers 53 percent to
21 percent, but Saint Leo found more success from the line as they
shot 73 percent 8-11) in comparison to Rollins' 65 (13-20).
Saint Leo jumped out to a quick two point lead as Washington
made good on a jumper just 30 seconds in to put the Lions up on the
board, but Moore helped the Tars quickly bounce back as she drained
two shots from the charity stripe to bring the matchup to its only
tied score of the evening.
Rollins swiftly extended their lead to nine with two treys from
Pressley, and one from Malatesta before the Lions would be able to
sink another basket. The Tars widened their lead to as much as 11
with a score of 17-6 and 13:50 remaining in the period.
The Lions slowly chipped away at the Tars' lead, and with a
three-pointer from Washington with just 36 seconds to go, Saint Leo
closed the gap to a two-point differential as both teams entered
into the locker rooms with Rollins leading by a slim margin of
32-30.
Rollins came out of the half to build their lead back to four,
but the Lions came out of the break roaring as they closed in on
the Tars and then took the lead by one with 17:39 to go in the
game.
The one-point lead was the last time Saint Leo would be the
forerunner as Rollins went on to stretch their advantage by up to
12 throughout the remainder of the game. The Tars out-shot the
Lions 20-14 in the paint throughout the second half, as well as led
in points from the bench 15-9.
Rollins will be back on the road as they travel to the
University of Tampa on Saturday, February 7 in the first part of a
conference double-header. Tipoff against the Spartans is set for
2:00 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 4:00. Fans can catch
all the action live on the Citizens Bank of Florida Tars Sports
Network at www.RollinsSports.com as well
as 91.5 WPRK.
