ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (January 17, 2015) - The
10th-ranked Rollins women's basketball team had its seven-game
winning streak snapped Saturday, falling to Eckerd 75-63 on the
road.
It was the first Sunshine State Conference loss for the Tars,
who drop to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in league play. The upstart
Tritons improve to 13-3, 4-2 SSC and pick up a second upset of a
nationally ranked team this season.
Emmalee
Schill led Rollins with 16 points and five rebounds. Ashley
Losch tallied 13 points and nine boards while Sarah
Taylor went for nine points, 10 rebounds. Taylor needs just 24
more points to reach 1,000 for her career.
Eckerd came into the day as the top shooting team in the nation
and the Tars second-ranked defense kept them in check, allowing
just 21-of-55 (38 percent) from the field. Rollins was 21-of-62 (34
percent). The Tritons won on the glass, outrebounding Rollins
44-42.
The Tritons grabbed a quick lead before the Tars later came back
to tie the score at 18 midway through the first. EC rolled off an
8-0 run and went up 26-18 just two minutes later.
Rollins answered with a run of their own and closed to 29-28
with 5:39 to play in the half. The Tars eventually trailed 39-34 at
intermission .
Eckerd continued its hot shooting as the Tars fell behind 59-46
with 11 minutes left.
The defense then stood up and held EC scoreless for the next six
minutes, allowing Rollins to climbed back to 59-55. The Tars forced
10-straight Tritons misses and had EC 25 feet from the basket with
a second on the shot clock, but Victoria Vine banked in a
desperation 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to 62-55 at the
4:48 mark.
That would be as close as the Tars would get the rest of the
night as EC closed the game 9-of-12 from the free throw line.
Rana Thomas led Eckerd with a game-high 29 points behind a
12-of-12 night at the free throw line. Trine Kasemagi added 19
points and 10 rebounds.
Rollins will look to bounce back 16th-ranked Florida
Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Melbourne. Tip off is set for 5:30
p.m. The Panthers are one of three remaining unbeatens on the
season and play at Florida Southern Saturday night before facing
the Tars. Fans can catch all the action live on the Geico Tars
Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
