AT A GLANCE - Coming off just its second loss
of the season, 10th-ranked Rollins (14-2, 6-1) looks to bounce back
in a big way Wednesday, hosting Nova Southeastern at Warden Arena.
The Tars were riding a 14-game winning streak heading into a road
match-up at Florida Tech before it was halted by the Panthers,
64-62. Ashley Jones hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25 seconds to
play, but Tech had the answer down the stretch. Jones led the way
with 12 points while Sarah Blackburn and Jasmine Cohen each tallied
eight points and seven rebounds. The streak was Rollins' longest
since the 2008-09 season. Rollins continues to ride its defense to
victories, allowing just 53.2 points a game, which leads the SSC
and ranks eighth in the nation. The Tars also rank 28th
in the nation in steals per game and 11th in turnover
margin. On the other end of the court, the Tars rank fourth in the
conference, generating 66.1 points of offense a night. Rollins is a
perfect 9-0 at home on the season, including a 3-0 mark in
conference play with an average winning margin of 26 points a
game...Nova Southeastern is 11-5 on the season and has won four of
its last five. The Sharks are 4-3 in conference play and coming off
a 74-45 win over Saint Leo their last time out. NSU hit 13-of-28
from 3-point range in the game and was led by Danielle Robinson's
21 points. Jasmine Wilkins recorded a double-double with 11 points
and 11 rebounds. The Sharks have met ranked opponents two other
times this season, scoring upsets in both. In December, they downed
24th-ranked Shaw by 15 and later beat
22nd-ranked Florida Southern by five in overtime. NSU
generates a SSC third-best 67 points a game while ranking third in
defense, surrendering 60 points a night. The Sharks are one of the
conference's top teams on the glass, ranking second in rebounding
margin. NSU is 2-2 on the road this season.
THE STARS - Ashley Jones continues to stand
atop the Tars season box score, putting up 12.2 points and 4.1
rebounds a game, while knocking down a team-best 29, 3-pointers.
Kourtnie Berry adds 8.5 points a game while Sarah Blackburn puts up
7.8 points and 4.3 boards...Danielle Robinson leads NSU with a SSC
second-best 14.9 points a game while Meixandra Poter adds 14.3 a
night. Jasmine Wilkins ranks eighth in the SSC with seven boards a
game.
THE COACHES - Glenn Wilkes Jr. (Stetson '81) is
in his 26th season leading the team and has built Rollins into a
SSC powerhouse and national contender year in and year out. His
career record of 567-184 is the 39th best mark among active coaches
in all divisions and the seventh most victories among Division II
active coaches...LeAnne Freeland (Southern Indiana '97) is in her
first year leading the Sharks after four-years at the helm of the
University of Indianapolis. She holds a career record of 100-40 as
a head coach.
THE SERIES - Rollins leads the all-time series
18-5 against Nova and is riding a six game winning streak over the
Sharks. In the two team's last meeting, Rollins won a nail-biter in
Ft. Lauderdale, 80-79 on a free throw by Paris Moore with two
seconds left. Moore, Kourtnie Berry and Julie Gorman each had 15
points for Rollins while Stephanie Sarosi dropped 25 points for the
Sharks.
UP NEXT - Rollins begins the second half of the
SSC schedule on Saturday, Jan. 28 at No. 19 Florida Southern.
Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. from the Jenkins Field House.
