With Selection Sunday looming, Rollins can bolster its
tournament resume on Saturday, facing Sunshine State Conference
co-Champion and top seed Nova Southeastern in the SSC Tournament
semifinals (Noon tipoff). The fourth-seed Tars ran past Florida
Tech 79-53 in Thursday's first quarterfinal, giving head coach
Glenn Wilkes Jr. his 600th career victory. The Sharks
then took the floor and got past Barry 83-67 in the afternoon semi.
The other side of the bracket saw two huge upsets in the quarters
and will have six-seed Tampa taking on seven-seed Saint Leo for a
trip to the title game. 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
SunshineStateConference.com.
ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The Tars (19-8) are coming
off a dominating win against Florida Tech (79-53) in the first
semifinal, their third victory over Tech this season. Five Tars
scored in double-figures, led by 16 points from Tera McDaniel. The
senior was 6-of-10 from the field while adding four assists and two
steals. Sarah Taylor and Ashley Jones each netted 14 with Jones
also hauling in seven rebounds. Sarah Blackburn scored 13 and
Ashley Losch netted 11.
The win was No. 600 for Glenn Wilkes Jr., now in his 27-year
career leading Rollins. He is the ninth head coach in Division II
history to reach the milestone and is one of just five active
coaches with 600 wins. Wilkes record of 600-197 is the 13th best
winning percentage all-time in Division II. His father Glenn
Wilkes, earned 551 career wins as the Stetson University men's
coach from 1958-1993.
Jones has hit a 3-pointer in 22-straight games and leads the
Tars season box score, netting 11 a game. All-SSC second teamer
Blackburn scored 10.1 a night and leads on the glass with 6.7
rebounds a game. Losch moved into the starting line-up 14 games ago
and adds 9.1 points a game.
Rollins improved its record to 47-25 in SSC Tournament play and
is now 20-2 in quarterfinal games. The Tars are 17-12 in the
semifinal round and have won two of the last three times when at
this stage in the bracket.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN AT A GLANCE: The Sharks
(20-7) avenged a regular season finale loss to Barry, ending the
Bucs season on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the tournament
83-67. Four players scored in double figures, led by 25 from
Meixandra Porter. Danielle Robinson added 16 points and six
rebounds while Aamanda Burakowski netted 15.
Porter, a All-SSC first teamer and the co-Defensive Player of
the Year, leads the team and is second in the league with 17.2
points a game. She has drained a SSC-best 71 3-pointers and is
second in steals with 2.6 a game. Back court mate Robinson, a
All-SSC second team selection, is fifth in the SSC with 15.0 points
a game while SSC All-Newcomer Tailor Jones is scoring 9.9 a night.
Jessica Russi leads the conference with 5.2 assists a game.
The Sharks have the nation's fifth-best offense, putting up 78.2
points a game, while ranking seventh in the SSC on defense,
allowing 61.2 a game.
NSU has won the SSC Tournament once, raising the trophy in
2008.
LAST MEETING: February 20 - NSU 85, Rollins 76 FT.
LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Rollins hung 51 second-half points,
but couldn't keep pace with the Sunshine State Conference's top
offense as the Tars fell to Nova Southeastern 85-76 in the
rematch. Ashley Jones hit six 3-pointers and led Rollins with 22
points off the bench. Sarah Taylor added 14 points and five
rebounds with Ashley Losch putting up 10 points and eight boards.
Ten different players scored for the Tars. NSU was led by Meixandra
Porter's game-high 27 points. Danielle Robinson poured in 22 to go
along with eight rebounds. Amanda Burakoski scored 12 and Jessica
Russi hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds.
FIRST MEETING: January 16 - Rollins 66,
FIT 56 (OT) - Rollins only connected on one bucket in the
final eight minutes as the 19th-ranked Tars were upset by Nova
Southeastern 77-62 in Sunshine State Conference play in their first
meeting . 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 leads the all-time series
over Nova Southeastern 20-7, including the two Sharks wins this
season. The Tars are 2-0 against NSU in the SSC Tournament. They
last met in the semifinals of the 2009 edition with Rollins winning
55-43.
THE COACHES: Glenn Wilkes Jr. (Stetson '81) is
in his 27th year leading the Tars and owns a career record of
600-197. 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 13th-best in the history of Division
II... LeAnn Freeland (Southern Indiana '97) is in her second season
leading the Sharks and is 37-18 at the helm.
