SAINT LEO, Fla. (February 24, 2018) – With a trip to the Sunshine State Conference Tournament on the line, host Saint Leo defended home court and ended Rollins season Saturday, handing the Tars a 67-55 loss.
Julia Ingler and Vernisha Andrews both scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the way for the Tars (12-14, 7-13 SSC). Carly McLendon totaled nine points and nine rebounds with Jasmine Stone also netting nine.
Nikira Hooks posted a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to pace Leo (12-14, 7-13 SSC). Giana Brierley added 12 points and six rebounds. The Lions win propelled them into the SSC Tournament as the No. 8 seed.
Rollins shot 35 percent in the game while Saint Leo hit 53 percent from the field and out rebounded the Tars 37-36.
The Tars led 6-5 three minutes into the game before the Lions outscored Rollins 9-3 the rest of the frame and took a 14-9 lead into the second.
The Leo offense stayed hot to start the second quarter and quickly put the Tars down by double digits, 29-16 at the 4:22 mark. Rollins trailed by as many as 15 in the quarter and went into intermission trailing 36-22.
Rollins came charging back in the third, posting an 11-0 run and pulling to within 36-33 with 6:07 on the clock. After a Leo bucket at the five-minute mark, Denise Daniels answered to cut the Tars deficit back to three, 38-35 with 3:29 on the clock. That would be the last Rollins score of the quarter as the Lions ended the frame on an 12-0 run and pushed the Tars into a 50-35 hole heading into the fourth.
Saint Leo went up by as many as 18 with 6:49 to play with Rollins getting no closer than 13 as the quarter wound down. Andrews hit a jumper with 22 seconds left to give the game its final score.
The loss to Saint Leo ends the Tars 2017-18 season.
