TAMPA, Fla. (February 7, 2009) – The
Rollins women's basketball team suffered a heartrending 71-48 loss
to the University of Tampa Spartans at the Martinez Center on
Saturday afternoon.
The 18th-ranked Tars (18-3, 8-3 SSC), pick up only their third
loss of the season, while Tampa advances to 16-5, and 6-4 in
conference action.
Leading the Tars on the afternoon was freshmen duo Kourtnie
Berry and Jasmine
Bradley with 11 and 10 points, respectively. A total of ten
Tars helped put points on the board throughout the contest, with
senior Ines
Teuma leading the team in boards as she tallied seven.
A boisterous Tampa crowd watched senior guard Hailee Sullivan
post a game and career-high 26 points as she drained 70 percent
(7-10) from long range, 69 percent (9-13) from the field, shot 50
percent from the charity stripe (1-2), and walked away with five
assists.
The conference showdown began with back and forth play between
both teams, as the first five minutes of action saw the score tied
twice and a total of three lead changes. Tampa soon slinked their
way up to a 13 point lead with 9:44 remaining, but a Berry lay-in
sparked an eight point Rollins run that was completed with a trey
from Berry to bring the Tars to within five.
The sprint came to a screeching halt over the next few minutes
as Tampa tallied a trio of treys from Gianna Messina, Catriana
Messina, and Sullivan, sprinkling in some free throws to out-score
Rollins in the final six minutes 15-5.
At the half, the Spartans held a 15 point lead, shooting 47
percent from long range and 48 percent from the field in comparison
to Rollins' 38 and 35 percent, respectively.
Rollins came out of the half still struggling to put points on
the board, allowing Tampa to charge out to an 18 point lead in the
first five minutes. The Spartans continued to shine as they held
their largest lead with 2:47 remaining in the contest, but the Tars
were able to pull back to within 23 in the waning moments of the
game.
The Tars will be back in action as they take on Florida Tech at
home in the first part of a conference double-header. Tipoff
against the Panthers is set for 5:30 p.m., with the men's game to
follow at 7:30. 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.
