TAMPA, Fla. (November 11, 2011) - Rollins held
a five-point lead late, but Clayton State finished the game on a
10-2 run as the Tars fell to the No. 1 ranked Lakers 54-51 in the
season opener at Tampa on Friday.
Paris Moore led Rollins (0-1) with 11 points
while Kristina Mingos and Kourtnie Berry each tallied eight. Newcomer Ashley Jones added six points and a team-high seven
rebounds.
Drameka Griggs paced the Lakers (1-0) with 17 points, who are
beginning defense of their 2010 NCAA Division II National
Championship. Brittany Hall and Tanisha Woodard each added nine
while Shacamra Jackson pulled down a game-high 11 boards.
Rollins shot 30 percent (18-60) from the field, going just
6-for-24 in the second half. Clayton State was 21-of-51 (41
percent) shooting, but just 8-of-23 from long range. The Tars won a
big edge on the boards, 45-32. Each team committed 25
turnovers.
The Tars used an 8-0 run in the middle of the first frame to
take a 19-10 lead over the first 12 minutes. The advantage
ballooned to 14, 28-14 after a layup and triple from Berry. The
Lakers chipped away and cut the Rollins lead to five, 31-26 before
a Tera McDaniel bucket put the Tars up 33-26 at
intermission.
In the second half, the Tars were able to maintain the lead
until a 7-1 run by the Lakers cut the lead to 45-44 with 4:12 to
play. A Moore jumper and free throws from Sarah Blackburn put Rollins back on top by five,
49-44.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Hall and Woodard gave Clayton St.
its first lead of the game, 50-49 with 90 seconds to play. Moore
tied the score at 50 with a free throw, but another triple, this
time from Keona Dixon, put the Lakers ahead for good, 53-50 with
1:04 to play.
Rollins will look to bounce back Saturday on day two of the
Tampa Spartan Challenge, facing 16th-ranked
Wisconsin-Parkside at 2:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the action live
on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
