Rollins will make its second consecutive trip to South Florida
on Wednesday, visiting the Shark Tank at Nova Southeastern. The
Tars had a four-game winning streak stopped by Lynn on Saturday as
a game winning shot hung on the rim for what felt like an eternity
before falling off. With two weeks remaining in the regular season,
Rollins has the Sunshine State Conference's top defense and will
face the league's top offense in NSU. The Sharks have dropped two
of the last three, but remain tied for second in the standings, a
half game back of Lynn. Fans can listen to all the action live on
the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM
WPRK.
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars (15-7, 6-6 SSC)
fell for the first time in two weeks its last time out and will
look to get another winning streak started with two weeks remaining
in the regular season. Against Lynn, Rollins held its opponent
under 50 points for the eighth time, but had its lowest scoring
output of the season, falling 48-47. A Tera McDaniel potential game
winner with seven seconds left sat on the back of the rim as the
clock ran down to one before finally falling off. In the ensuing
scrum, Lynn was called for a foul with 0.8 showing and a contested
Ashley Losch jumper was off the mark at the buzzer. Emmalee Schill
tallied her second career double-double with 11 points and a
career-high 11 rebounds. McDaniel poured in 10 points with four
rebounds, four assists and three steals. SSC leading scorer Kira
Harvey paced Lynn and all scorers with 22 points, five rebounds and
five assists.
Rollins defense ranks seventh in the nation and leads the SSC,
allowing just 52.2 points a game. The Tars are fifth in offense
with 61.3 points a night and rank only behind NSU in scoring
margin. Rollins is second in rebounding margin (+4.5) after its
57-36 edge on the glass against Lynn. The Blue and Gold also lead
the SSC in blocked shots with 4.3 swats a night.
Ashley Jones has hit a 3-pointer in 16-straight games and leads
Rollins with 10.5 points a game. Sarah Blackburn nets 9.4 a game
and ranks fourth in the SSC with seven rebounds a night. Ashley
Losch is scoring 8.4 points a game while Sarah Taylor is netting
7.9. Seven different players have led the Tars in scoring on the
season.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN AT A GLANCE: The Sharks are
still alive for the SSC regular season title, but have lost two of
its last three heading into the match-up with Rollins. NSU is
coming off a 66-56 win over Tampa on Saturday, the first of
three-straight home games. Due to injury, there were just eight
Sharks in uniform. Amanda Burakoski led the way with 17 points
while Meixandra Porter added 16 and Danielle Robinson 15.
Porter leads NSU and is second in the SSC with 16 points a game
and leads in steals, with 2.6 a game. Robinson is netting 13.7 a
night with Burakoski adding 13.6 a game. Richelle Carach leads the
Sharks on the glass, hauling in 4.8 rebounds a game. Jessica Russi
is the conference's top distributer, handing out five assists an
outing.
The Sharks have eclipsed 70 points in all but seven games and
lead the conference with 78 points a game, 10 more than Florida
Tech in second. On the season, NSU has outscored teams by more than
18 a game.
Nova Southeastern is 9-2 at the Don Taft Center this season with
both losses coming in SSC play.
LAST MEETING: JAN. 16, NSU 77, Rollins 62-
Rollins only connected on one bucket in the final eight minutes as
the 19th-ranked Tars were upset by Nova Southeastern 77-62. Sarah
Blackburn tallied 12 points and four rebounds to pace Rollins.
Ashley Losch netted 11 off the bench. Nova Southeastern was led by
Amanda Burakowski's game-high 27 points with Taylor Buie and
Meixandra Porter each scoring nine.
THE SERIES: Rollins is 20-6 all-time against
the Sharks, including a 4-2 record at The Arena inside the
University Center
THE COACHES: Glenn Wilkes Jr. (Stetson '81) is
in his 27th year leading the Tars and owns a career record of
596-196. He has the fifth-most victories among active Division II
coaches and has racked up the 10th most all-time. Wilkes winning
percentage is the 13th-best in the history of Division
II. LeAnn Freeland (Southern Indiana '97) is in her second season
leading the Sharks and is 33-17 at the helm.
