Tars Hold on at PBA, Close Regular Season with Win

Rollins

82 -

81

PBA

Box Score

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (February 27, 2016) - Rollins jumped out to a huge first half lead before hanging on late, closing their regular season with an 82-81 win at Palm Beach Atlantic.

Both the Tars and the Sailfish close the season with identical 13-13 records.

Marie Gilbert led Rollins with 17 points and 11 rebounds, recording her first career double-double. Julia Ingler had 15 while Carly McLendon scored 13 with five boards. Tanaya Jones had a career high eight assists before fouling out.

Janelle Cannon had 28 for the Sailfish on 9-19 shooting with 10 boards while Ayanna Holmes had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Hannah Grim finished with 19 points in 37 minutes.

As a team, Rollins shot 39 percent from the field and outrebounded Palm Beach Atlantic, 48-41.

PBA opened with eight straight points before Gilbert put the Tars on the board with two free at the 7:29 mark of the first.

Later in the quarter, down 12-4, Rollins would rattle off 13 unanswered to take a 17-12 lead with 4:32 on the clock.

The Tars advantage would grow to eight at the end of the first period, 28-20. Gilbert had 10 points and five rebounds in the quarter.

Rollins' began the second with a 16-2 spurt, jumping out to a 22-point lead, 44-22, midway through the period.

The Sailfish would pull back within 14 at the 1:22 mark before an old-fashioned three-point play from McLendon late in the quarter gave the Tars a 17-point lead at the break, 49-32. Rollins shot 42 percent in first half, including 5-12 from beyond the arc.

PBA would cut it to 10 three minutes into the third and eventually climbed all the way back within two entering the fourth, 64-62. The Sailfish outscored Rollins, 30-15, in the third.

The Tars regrouped early in the fourth, pushing the lead back to double digits with 6:48 left at 75-65.

PBA would threaten again down the stretch as the Tars had trouble taking care of the ball and allowed the Sailfish to pull within one, 79-78, with 13 seconds left.

Jen Farrell then hit a pair of free throws before a Vernisha Andrews came up with a huge steal on PBA's ensuing possession before being quickly fouled. She went on to hit one of two. Grimm would hit a half court heave at the buzzer, making it an 82-81 final.

The Tars will be back in action on Wednesday, March 2 in the quarterfinal of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. With Eckerd losing at Barry on Saturday, Rollins locked up the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 seed Florida southern at 7 p.m. Semifinals and finals will be held at the ICI Center on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. The Women's tournament moves to the ICI Center after three years at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Prior to Silver Spurs Arena, the tournaments were held at member institutions from 2002 to 2012. SSC tournament play begins on Wednesday, March 2nd and concludes on Sunday, March 6th.