FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 7, 2009) – Top
seed Rollins used a big second half run to get past fourth seed
Nova Southeastern 55-43 Saturday and advance to Sunday's BlueCross
BlueShield of Florida Sunshine State Conference Championship
game.
Rollins (25-4) will match up with fellow co-SSC regular season
champion Tampa at 1 p.m. Sunday for the title.
Jasmine
Bradley led the Tars with 12 points off the bench, 10 by way of
a pair of decisive Rollins second half runs. Paris
Moore added 10 points, seven assists, and five steals while Kourtnie
Berry netted nine.
SSC Player of the Year Stephanie Sarosi posted a game-high 15
points with 12 rebounds to lead the Sharks (14-15).
After shooting just 21 percent in the first half, the Tars hit
for 41 percent from the floor in the second to out shoot the Sharks
31 percent (21-of-68) to 25 percent (15-of-58). Rollins dominated
on the glass, earning a 55-39 rebounding edge and forced 19 Nova
turnovers.
"The team showed a lot of character today and our defense really
stepped up," said Rollins head coach Glenn
Wilkes Jr. "Shots started to fall in the second half, but it
was our defense that really kept us in it. We were down most of the
game, but kept our cool and I think that shows why this team has
won 25 games this season."
Rachael
Malatesta scored the game's first points with a jumper two
minutes in, but Sarosi scored eight straight points to give the
Sharks an 8-4 lead with 11 minutes to play in the opening period.
Nova went up by as much as six in the first frame, but Rollins got
back to within two, 20-18 after a Moore jumper with 28 seconds
left. Priscilla Perez was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with two
seconds to go in the half and made good on all three, making the
score 23-10 in favor of NSU at the half.
After a Wideline
Seraphin jumper cut the Nova advantage to one, Rollins was able
to regain the lead in the middle of the second half as Erin
Kirkwood hit a baseline jumper from the right side to put the
Tars up 32-31. Both plays sparked a 13-0 run over the next four
minutes to give Rollins a 41-31 advantage with seven minutes to
play. The Tars spurt was highlighted by a Brittainy
Daiger to Bradley backdoor lay in and an immediate Bradley
triple to swing the game in Rollins' favor.
"Jasmine is playing in her hometown and had a big crowd here
today," said Wilkes. "It was great to see her play so well in front
of her family and friends. She has been a huge spark off the bench
off all season and hit some big shots in the second half that gave
us the lead."
Nova answered with a quick 5-0 run to cut the lead to five, but
Bradley pushed the advantage back to double digits with another
trey and lay in, making the score 48-38, Tars with four minutes to
play. The Sharks got to within five once again, but Rollins hit
7-of-9 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
"Every year we go into the season with the ultimate goal of
winning the SSC regular season title and we were able to do that.
The tournament and the possibility of winning it is really just
icing on the cake. We feel good about our chances to make it to the
NCAA Tournament so tomorrow we are going to go out, have fun and
see what happens."
Rollins and Tampa split in the regular season with each winning
on their own home court. The Tars were a 61-48 winner in Winter
Park, but fell to UT 71-48 at Tampa. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.
from the Shark Tank at Nova Southeastern with the winner earning
the Sunshine State Conference title and an automatic bid into the
NCAA South Region Tournament.
