Matchup:
No. 16/No. 2 Rollins (24-5) vs. No. 10/No. 3 Nova Southeastern
(23-4)
Sunshine State Conference Tournament Semifinal
When:
Saturday, March 8 - 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Silver Spurs Arena - Kissimmee, Fla.
For the third straight year and 31st time in program
history, Rollins is set to play in the Sunshine State Conference
Tournament semifinals, meeting Nova Southeastern on Saturday, March
8 at 7:30 p.m. The 16th-ranked Tars and
10th-ranked Sharks split a pair of thrillers in the
regular season. Today's winner will face either Tampa or Saint Leo
in the championship game Sunday afternoon. Fans can catch all the
action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and
locally on 91.5 FM WPRK - live video is available at
SunshineStateConference.com.
No. 16 ROLLINS AT A GLANCE: The second-seed
Tars beat ninth-seed Florida Southern in the regular season finale
and four days later again dispatched FSC 69-61 in the first round
of the SSC Tournament. The final score is not indicative of the
Tars dominance on the night as they held a 23 point lead late in
the second half before the Mocs closed the gap against the Tars
reserves. 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.
All-SSC first teamer Sarah
Taylor leads the Rollins offense with 13.1 points a game. She
is shooting 40 percent from the field, leads the team with 43
three-pointers and is second with 6.4 rebounds. SSC Defensive
Player of the Year Emmalee
Schill is putting up 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and a league
best 47 blocks. Sarah
Blackburn is scoring 10.8 points a game and is third in the SSC
with 8.4 rebounds a night. Tanaya
Jones was named the SSC Freshman of the Year and leads the
league with 2.7 steals a game.
The Tars are sixth in the SSC in offense with 66 points a game
and second in defense, ranking eighth nationally, allowing 57.6 a
night.
Glenn Wilkes
Jr. (Stetson '81) is in his 28th year leading the Tars and owns
a career record of 627-203. Between Wilkes and assistant coaches Eddie
Cole and Tami
Stark, Rollins has more than 1,500 combined victories and 68
years of experience on the bench.
No. 10 NOVA SOUTHEASTERN AT A GLANCE: The
Sharks won the first 15 games of the season before suffering its
first loss to Tampa. They then won five in a row, but finished the
regular season 2-3, including an OT loss to Rollins. No. 3 seed NSU
beat eighth-seed Eckerd 75-68 Thursday in the SSC
quarterfinals.
Amanda Burakowski led the Sharks with 18 points while Jasmine
Wilkins added 14. Jessica Russi added 13 points and 11
rebounds.
Taylor Buie leads the high-powered Sharks offense with 15 points
a night while Wilkins is averaging 14 a game. Danielle Robinson and
Richelle Carach are both scoring 12.5 a game to give NSU four
players in the top-10 on the conference-scoring chart. Wilkins is
also adding 7.5 rebounds a game. Russi leads the nation in assists,
handing out 8.3 a game.
NSU is eighth in the nation and tops the SSC in offense,
lighting up the scoreboard for 81.3 points a game. On the other end
of the court, NSU is allowing 57.6 points a game.
.LeAnn Freeland is in her third year leading the Sharks and has
quickly led the program to new heights. She is 63-24 at NSU and
142-59 in seven years as a head coach, having previously led
Indianapolis for four successful seasons.
THE SERIES: Rollins leads the all-time series
22-9, splitting a pair of thrillers this regular season. They
engaged in an epic battle in Ft. Lauderdale earlier in the year as
the 13th-ranked Tars fell to the third-ranked Sharks 63-60. Rollins
led by six late, but was held scoreless the final 6:08 of the game.
Sarah
Taylor led the Tars with 16 points and six rebounds while Sarah
Blackburn recorded 13 points and eight boards. Taylor Buie
paced the Sharks with 14 and Jasmine Wilkins earned a double-double
with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
In the rematch, No. 18 Rollins built a 15-point halftime lead,
but the No. 4 Sharks came back to force overtime. In the extra
period, the Tars defense surrendered just one NSU field goal,
propelling Rollins to a 71-71 OT victory. Jen
Farrell was perfect from the 3-point (5-5) and free throw (4-4)
lines, leading Rollins with a career-high 19 points. Sarah
Taylor added 18 points and nine rebounds while Emmalee
Schill recorded 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks.
Jasmine Wilkins and Taylor Buie each scored 18 to lead NSU with
Wilkins also hauling in 10 rebounds and adding five steals. Ashley
Robinson put up 11 points.
TARS TOURNAMENT NOTES: Rollins is 3-0 against
Nova Southeastern in the SSC Tournament. They met in the semifinals
last season with the Tars upsetting the top-seed Sharks 83-80. Ashley
Losch scored 18 points to led Rollins while Meixandra Porter
put up 19 for the Sharks. Rollins then went on to beat Saint Leo in
the tournament final. The two schools also met in the 2006 and 2009
semifinals, both Tars victories.
NEXT UP FOR ROLLINS: The winner of Rollins and
Nova Southeastern will meet the winner of top-seed Tampa and
fourth-seed Saint Leo in the championship game, slated for 3:30
p.m. on Sunday, March 9.
