TAMPA, Fla. (January 5, 2013) - A clash between
two nationally ranked rivals lived up to its billing Saturday as
the 23rd ranked Tars fell to 16th-ranked Tampa, 52-49.
Ashley Jones led Rollins (8-3, 0-2 Sunshine
State Conference) with 12 points and six rebounds. Sarah Blackburn added 10 points, eight rebounds, four
assists and four steals.
Tampa moved to 10-0 on the season and was paced by 16 points
from Moriah Hodge and 13 from Juliana Cavallaro. Illyssa Vivo put
up 12 points, all in the second half, and tallied six rebounds.
After UT took a six-point lead early in the game, Rollins
battled back to lead 17-14 on a pair of Blackburn jumpers with 9:12
to play in the half.
The Tars were then outscored 12-5 the rest of the frame, capped
off with a Hodge triple at the buzzer, and faced a 26-22 deficit at
the half.
Rollins was down by as much as 37-28 with 11:35 to play. Tera McDaniel then made two straight jumpers
and quickly pulled the Tars to as close as five before UT extended
its advantage to 44-37 with 6:14 to play.
On the next possession, McDaniel banked in a 3-pointer and was
followed by a Sarah Taylor jumper to get Rollins to within
44-42.
The Spartans led 50-46 at the 3:44 mark before a two-minute
scoreless drought for both teams. A free throw by Losch with 64
ticks left and two by Taylor with 27 seconds to play closed the gap
to 50-49.
After a Tars foul, Shamika Williams connected on a pair from the
line to put UT up 52-49. Rollins called timeout to set up a final
shot, but a contested Taylor 3-pointer from the top of the key was
off the mark. McDaniel chased down the rebound and a Jones look
from the right corner fell off the rim with 10 seconds to play.
Rollins again fouled and Vivo missed the front end of a
one-and-one, but Rollins couldn't get off a desperation shot in the
final second.
The Tars shot 37 percent (20-54) from the field while UT was
19-of-47 (40 percent). The Spartans earned a 37-28 rebounding edge
with both teams committing 13 turnovers.
The Tars will look to rebound on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Florida
Tech. The Panthers will take a six-game winning streak into the key
conference match-up . Tip off is slated for 5:30 p.m. Fans can
listen to all the action live on the Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com.
