No. 21 Tars Veto Senators to Tip Off Thanksgiving Classic

WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 25, 2011) - Rollins made just six-first half field goals, but found its offense in the second half as the 21^st-ranked Tars downed Davis & Elkins College 57-50 in game one of the Rollins Thanksgiving Classic.

Tera McDaniel scored 12 of her team-high 14 in the second half to lead Rollins (4-1). Kourtnie Berry, Sarah Blackburn, Kristina Mingos and Ashley Jones each netted seven as 10 different Tars scored in the contest.

Page Turner led D&E (4-1) with 15 points while Rachel Gostomski added 14. Jorden Lykes tallied a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

In the first half, both teams appeared to still feel the effects of the tryptophan in Thursday's Thanksgiving feast as they combined to miss 16 of the game's first 21 shots, leading to a 4-4 tie after seven minutes.

Rollins spun off a 7-1 run and led 11-5 after a Mingos 3-pointer halfway through the period. The offense again hit a lull however, and the Senators chipped away, taking a 17-16 lead on a Turner 3-pointer with 2:31 to play in the half. They then traded baskets until a Moore layup knotted the score at 20 heading into intermission.

The Tars shot just 6-of-33 (18 percent) in the first half while Davis & Elkins hit 8-of-23 (34 percent).

Rollins found its groove early in the second half, but so did D&E as the game was tied 40-40 with 9:29 to play. The Senators took a quick lead and were up 45-44 with 5:52 in the game before McDaniel took over and pushed the Tars back on top. The junior scored six of the game's next eight points and assisted on a Jones bucket, to give the Tars a 52-45 advantage with 3:37 to play. The Tars then iced the game by hitting 5-of-6 from the stripe in the final minutes.

Rollins shot 51 percent (14-27) in the second half and ended the day hitting 33 percent from the field while the Senators shot 34 percent (18-53) on the night. The Tars out rebounded their guests 45-36 and forced 16 turnovers while committing just 13.

The Tars will next host Johnson C. Smith to start day two of the Rollins Thanksgiving Classic. JCSU beat Florida Tech 54-50 in a thriller Friday afternoon. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. Fans can catch all the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.