SAINT LEO, FLA. (January 15, 2011) - With the
Rollins women's basketball team trailing by five with 6:22
remaining in the first half, Sarah Blackburn turned up the heat,
draining 11 points in five minutes to set up the Tars for a big
second half. Despite a three point first-half deficit, the Tars
went on to defeat the Saint Leo University Lions 66-60 on Saturday
afternoon in the Bowman Center.
Rollins (15-2, 3-2) saw two Tars with double-digit scoring
efforts. Blackburn's big first half set her up for a total of 13
points, while Kristina Mingos took the team lead with 14 points on
the afternoon. Brooke Burgess was hot off the glass with 10
rebounds, while Paris Moore took a game-high five steals down
court.
The Lions, who drop to an overall mark of 7-9 and 0-6 in
Sunshine State Conference action, were led by Brittany Carrannante,
who drained a game-high 18 points as she went 5-for-10 from long
range. Chelsea Williams earned the game's only double-double with
a 15 point 11 rebound performance, while Jamarra Robinson chipped
in 10 points.
The Tars trailed by as much as 13 in the first period, but
battled back to pull within three of the Lions thanks to
Blackburn's big 11-point performance at the end of the period.
Rollins took charge in the second half, finding the twine on
their first trip down the court with a layup from Burgess to pull
to within one point of their adversary just 40 seconds into the
period.
Neither team was able to find success in the ensuing two and a
half minutes, with a missed three-pointer from SLU's Kiara Bradley
resulting in a timeout called by the Lions with 16:36 on the
clock.
Rollins gained possession after the break, giving Amber Heistan
the perfect opportunity for a coast-to-coast pass from the end line
to Mingos. Mingos took the ball in for a layup, giving the Tars
their first lead since the beginning of the game with a score of
37-36.
Williams knotted the scoreboard at 37 apiece, and then gave the
Lions a slim one point lead as she made good on two shots from the
charity stripe. But the Tars were quick to respond with a fast
break layup from Heistan to put Rollins back in the one-point
advantage.
Saint Leo pulled ahead by two with 15:09 on the clock after a
long-range bucket from Elise Clyburn, but Rollins chipped away at
their final deficit of the contest, and regained the lead with
14:02 remaining and a score of 42-41.
The Tars extended their advantage to as much as 10 as the clock
wore down, and held onto the advantage for the remainder of the
contest. Despite shooting 30 percent from the field and 27 percent
from long range, Rollins was able to go 10-for-14 from the foul
line for 71 percent.
Rollins returns to action on Wednesday, January 19, when they
take on Florida Tech at 5:30 in Warden Arena. Fans who cannot make
it to the game will be able to catch all of the action live on the
Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com, as well as locally on the
radio on 91.5 WPRK.
