KISSIMMEE, Fla. (March 6, 2014) - Rollins built
a 23-point lead by the middle of the second half and put it in
cruise control the rest of the way, beating Florida Southern 69-61
in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
The second-seed Tars (24-5) advance to play the winner of
third-seed Nova Southeastern and eight-seed Eckerd on Saturday,
March 8 at 7:30 p.m. inside Silver Spurs Arena.
No. 16 Rollins had 11 players see significant floor time and was
led by Sarah
Taylor's 14 points. Emmalee
Schill and Sarah
Blackburn each scored 11 while Jacquar
Westbrooks tallied career highs with 10 points and four
steals.
Morgan Siebka paced Florida Southern (7-20) with 13 points while
Sydni Payne netted 11.
The victory over the Mocs was the third this season and second
in four days while also extending Rollins winning streak over its
rival to six games.
Taylor had the hot hand at the beginning, scoring eight points
and sparking the Tars 17-6 lead over the first seven minutes.
FSC would get as close as five twice the rest of the half with
Rollins ultimately taking a 38-27 lead into halftime.
The Tars kept its tempo up in the second and built a 57-34 led
after a third Westbrooks steal and breakaway layup at the 12:19
mark. Rollins held a comfortable 67-49 advantage with four minutes
to play before the Mocs closed the gap against the Tars reserves
down the stretch.
Rollins shot 40 percent from the field and hit 11-of-16 at the
free throw line. Southern hit 37 percent from the floor. The Tars
were again dominant on the glass, outrebounding FSC 44-34,
including an 18-8 edge on the offensive end.
The Tars are ranked second in the latest NCAA Division II South
Region Poll, released late Wednesday night. SSC Champion and
tournament top seed Tampa is first while Nova Southeastern is
third. The NCAA Tournament selection show is slated for Sunday,
March 9.
Fans can follow Rollins run through the Sunshine State
Conference Tournament live on the Tars Sports Network at
RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
