MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (December 2, 2017) – Rollins had its seven-game winning streak to start the season halted by Barry 78-60 on the road Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Tars fall to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in Sunshine State Conference play while the Bucs improve to 5-2, 2-1 SSC.
Carly McLendon posted 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks to lead the Tars. She took over sole possession of third place on the Tars all-time blocks list with 131 for her career. The junior is now just nine swats away from Kristen Dellinger and Kim Tayrien in first place.
Vernisha Andrews added 11 points and eight rebounds. Julia Ingler, Jasmine Stone and Denise Daniels each netted eight.
Barbara Cousino filled the Barry boxscore with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kiara Palmer chipped in 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Rollins shot 37 percent (23-63), but hit a season-low four from beyond the arc. Barry had the best shooting night of any Tars opponent this year, hitting 46 percent from the floor and 10-of-28 from three-point range. Rollins was also outrebounded for the first time this year, 41-29.
It took nearly two full minutes of game play for anyone to score until Barry cracked the scoreboard and later put the Tars down 10-2 midway through the first. Summer Conti highlighted a Tars run with a triple to make it 15-9, but the Bucs stayed hot and took a 21-13 lead after one.
Andrews scored a jumper at the 7:47 mark of the second and pulled the Tars to within 21-18. The Bucs scored the next eight points to keep Rollins at bay and eventually gave the Tars a 35-25 deficit at the half.
Sparked by back-to-back triples from Stone and Jaylyn Harrison, Rollins opened the third with a 9-0 run to pull to within 38-37 with 7:24 on the clock. Barry responded with an 8-0 run and Rollins was again back to playing catch-up. The Tars used another Stone three-pointer to and trailed just 51-44 with 2:06 left in the third and were down 59-48 heading into the fourth.
The Tars wouldn't get any closer than the 11-point spread the rest of the way and suffered its first loss of the season.
Rollins is off for the next seven days before hosting Saint Leo on Saturday, December 9 at 3 p.m. The Lions are 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the SSC this season. Fans can follow the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
