WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 1, 2012) - Taylor
Bestry converted two free throws with 1.6 seconds to play, handing
13th-ranked Rollins a 68-67 loss in both school's Sunshine State
Conference opener.
Ashley
Jones and Emmalee
Schill each poured in 18 points to lead Rollins (5-2, 0-1 SSC).
Sarah
Blackburn was 5-of-6 from the line to add seven points to go
along with nine rebounds.
Eckerd (4-2, 1-0 SSC) was paced by 18 points each from Liga
Vente and Annie Armstrong, who also hauled in nine boards. Bestry
added 12 after a 6-for-6 performance from the line while Krystal
Charles recorded 11 points and eight rebounds.
The contest was close throughout with 13 ties, 13 lead changes
and a six-point Rollins lead in the second half serving as the
largest for either team.
The Tars used a 7-1 run in the middle of the first to take a
19-14 advantage with 10:42 to play in the frame. EC came back to
tie at 19 before a Tera
McDaniel jumper stopped the spurt.
A pair of Marie
Gilbert free throws at the 1:23 mark gave Rollins a 32-31 lead
and a Jones triple at the buzzer made it a 35-31 Tars advantage at
the break.
In the second, neither team could put a run together as two
Taylor free throws with 7:53 to play tied the game at 52.
With 3:24 to play, Jones drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the
key to knot the score for a 10th time, 61-61.
Rollins was down one with less than a minute to play and forced
a lose ball under the Tritons basket. Blackburn was fouled in the
scrum and calmly sank a pair from the line and put the Tars on top
67-66 with 14 seconds left.
With the final seconds ticking away, Bestry got off a jumper in
the lane, but Schill was whistled for a foul to set up the final
play. After the free throws, Jones lofted a desperation half court
heave, but it just missed to the left.
Rollins shot 31 percent (21-68) from the field while Eckerd hit
22-of-49 (45 percent). The Tars were outrebounded 40-36 and
committed just six turnovers while forcing 17.
Rollins will take the week off for final exams before hosting
Warner University on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Fans can catch all
the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
