WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 9, 2017) – Rollins offense had its lowest scoring output in more than a decade and took a second-straight loss, falling 44-34 to Saint Leo on Saturday.
The eight-ranked Tars shot just 20 percent and couldn't capitalize on a halftime lead, scoring only nine points after intermission.
Jo Bistrow scored seven off the bench to lead Rollins (7-2, 3-2 Sunshine State Conference). Denise Daniels and Carly McLendon both tallied six points with nine rebounds. McLendon also racked up six blocks and needs three more to tie Kim Tayrien and Kirsten Dellinger for the most in program history.
Vernisha Andrews led the Tars on the glass with a career-high 13 rebounds as Rollins outrebounded Saint Leo 49-46 on the night.
Ragen Dotson topped Saint Leo (4-6, 2-3 SSC) with 14 points and seven rebounds. Gina Brierley netted nine.
The offensive woes for both teams started right from the beginning with the Lions taking a 10-7 lead after the first 10 minutes. Rollins was 3-of-16 in the frame while Leo hit 4-of-12.
Rollins exploded in the second quarter and seemingly took control of the game. After falling down by as many as six, the Tars rolled off a 13-3 run and led 20-16 with 2:10 left in the half. Leo answered with a bucket before Jasmine Stone scored for the Tars and Julia Ingler hit a buzzer beater while falling out of bounds to put the Tars up 25-18 at the break.
In the third, the Lions flipped momentum their way, holding the Tars to 3-of-12 shooting and outscored Rollins 18-7 in the quarter. The score was tied at 30 with 2:40 on the clock and the Lions outscored the Tars 6-2 the rest of the frame to put Rollins down 36-32 heading into the fourth.
McLendon cut the Leo advantage in half with a bucket at the 8:52 mark, but that would be the last score for the Tars on the evening. Rollins went 0-for-15 from the field the rest of the way while the Lions finished with a 6-0 run to shock the nationally ranked Tars by 10.
Rollins was 13-of-64 (20 percent) from the field and just 3-of-23 from long range. Saint Leo shot 12-of-51 (24 percent) shooting.
Rollins will regroup over finals week and be back in action on Saturday, December 16 hosting Miles College at 2 p.m. Fans can watch the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com.
