Tars Open NCAA Tourney Friday vs. Lynn

Friday, March 15 - Don Taft University Center - Nova Southeastern

No. 4 Lynn vs. No. 5 Rollins - 8:30 p.m.

For the second-straight season and 13^th time in school history, Rollins has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament. The Tars are coming off a second-consecutive Sunshine State Conference Tournament title and will be the No. 5 seed, facing No. 4 Lynn in the first round. Nova Southeastern is the top seed and serves as host of eight-team event inside the Don Taft University Center. Rollins won the tournament a year ago and advanced to the semifinals of the national tournament - the first conference school to reach the final four. Fans can listen to all the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK. Live streaming video is available at NCAA.com and NSUSharks.com.

ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars (20-9) ride the longest winning streak of the season into the tournament, winners of the last six in a row. Rollins has used a balance attack to build its streak, lighting up the scoreboard for more than 76 points a game while holding opponents to just 63 a night.

Rollins was ranked No. 4 in the national preseason poll and went 4-0 to start the season. The Tars fell to Tusculum in their own Thanksgiving Tournament for the first loss of the season and a week later fell to Eckerd to stand at 5-2. Rollins then won its next three including an upset of 12^th-ranked Indiana Pa. in the Rollins Holiday Classic. The Tars then met 16^th-ranked Tampa to start the bulk of the SSC schedule and lost a three-point heartbreaker on the road. In the middle of the season, the Tars struggled in putting together a winning streak and fell to last place in the conference standings after a loss to Saint Leo.

A 28-point thrashing of Florida Southern started a four-game winning streak that got the Tars rolling into the stretch run of the season. Standing a 15-6, Rollins then played the conference's top two teams on the road, falling to Lynn and Nova Southeastern in consecutive games. The two schools went on to share the Sunshine State Conference title. Rollins returned home to beat Saint Leo and Barry, then followed with a victory at Florida Southern to finish the regular season 18-8 overall and 9-7 in SSC play.

Rollins was the four seed in the SSC Tournament, hosted at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. They beat Florida Tech 79-53 in the quarterfinals and outlasted top-seed Nova Southeastern 83-80 in the semis. Rollins matched up with seventh-seed Saint Leo in the championship game and ran away with the title, winning 74-59. Tera McDaniel was named the MVP of the tournament and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Ashley Jones and Ashley Losch.

Jones is the only Tar averaging in double figures, putting up 11.1 points a game. The junior rides a steak of 25-straight games with at least one 3-pointer into the postseason. All-SSC second teamer Sarah Blackburn scored 9.9 a game and leads the team with 6.7 rebounds a night. Losch moved into the starting line-up midseason and moved to third on the scoring chart, getting 9.4 nights a game. McDaniel is scoring 7.1 a game and adds 3.9 assists a night while ranking 10^th in the nation with a 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Rollins averages 64.6 points a game and ranks 24^th in the nation on defense, allowing just 55.7 a night. Rollins is also 14^th nationally in turnovers, averaging just 13.8 miscues a game.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Rollins is 8-12 in 12 previous appearances at the NCAA Division II Tournament. Last season the Tars went 4-1 while advancing to the national semifinals - the furthest of any women's Sunshine State Conference team. Rollins has enjoyed the most success as the No. 1 seed, holding a 6-3 record. The 2013 tournament will be the first Rollins is the No. 5 seed.

vs. 2013 TOURNAMENT TEAMS: The Tars have met three NCAA qualifying teams during the season. They are 1-2 against Nova Southeastern and 0-2 versus Lynn. The Tars are also 1-0 against Indiana Pa., the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic Region.

THE SILVER FOX: Glenn Wilkes Jr. (Stetson '81) is in his 27th year leading the Tars and owns a career record of 602-197. 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 13^th-best in the history of Division II. Rollins coaching staff of Wilkes, Eddie Cole, Tami Stark and Amber Heistan have a combined 65 years experience on the Tars' bench. Stark and Heistan were standout players for Wilkes as collegians.