WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 9, 2012) -Rollins saw
11 different players notch the scoring column Friday as the
top-seed Tars posted a 71-44 win over West Alabama in NCAA Division
II South Region Tournament quarterfinals.
Tournament host Rollins (25-5), ranked 15th in the
latest USA TODAY/ ESPN Division II poll, advances to meet either
fourth-seed Alabama-Huntsville or fifth-seed Delta State on
Saturday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Warden Arena.
Gulf South Tournament champion West Alabama had its season end
at 15-14.
Rollins' bench scored 39 points and was led by 14 points and six
rebounds from Sarah Blackburn. Jasmine Bradley chipped in 11 points while Paris Moore tallied nine points, six rebounds and two
assists.
Jamie Gunter paced UWA with 11 points. Danielle Cole netted
nine.
"I think we did a great job of setting the tone in the first 10
minutes," said Rollins head coach Glenn Willkes Jr. "We rebounded
and played defense very well at the beginning. After seeing UWA win
the GSC Tournament, we knew they were very dangerous, so it was
great to get off to the start we did."
Playing on its home court, Rollins had its best shooting night
of the season, hitting 52 percent (29-55) from the field. The
Tigers shot 29 percent (15-51) and were outrebounded by Rollins
38-29.
Tera McDaniel hit a 3-pointer on Rollins' first
possession and later drained a jumper to give the Tars an early 5-0
lead.
The Rollins advantage ballooned to 22-10 at the 7:46 mark and
then hit 22, 37-15, with 2:54 to play in the stanza. UWA closed the
period on a 5-0 run as Rollins took a 37-30 lead into halftime.
The Tars would go on to lead by as much as 30 late in the second
half and earned a spot in the semifinals. Rollins last advanced
this far in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, also hosted in Winter
Park.
Fans can catch all of the action in the NCAA Division II South
Region Tournament on the Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com.
