LAKELAND, Fla. (February 12, 2020) – Rollins grabbed control early, but was outscored by 13 in the middle quarters and fell to Florida southern 74-59 on the road Wednesday.
The loss drops the Tars to 12-11 overall and leaves them some work to do over the season's final five games, sitting at 5-10 in Sunshine State Conference play. Rollins is a game out of the final SSC tournament spot, but still in contention with four upcoming games against teams near the bottom of the standings.
Jaylyn Harrison continued her stellar senior campaign, scoring a team-high 13 points to go along with four assists. Rachel Lia netted 12 while Dense Daniels recorded eight points and nine rebounds.
Julia Jenike scored 20 to pace FSC (15-9, 12-4 SSC). Marta Aranda added 16 points and five assists off the bench while Makenzie Steele netted 12.
Rollins shot 42 percent from the field with the Mocs hitting 48 percent from the floor. The Tars won on the glass 36-30, but committed 18 turnovers to FSC's 10.
Rollins led 9-5 after the first five minutes before turning a Paris Sharpe block into a Lia jumper that pushed the lead to 11-5. The Mocs cut the lead to one and eventually went up 12-11 before a Lia triple put the Tars up 14-12 lead after the first.
The Tars suffered through a four-minute scoring drought early in the second and fell off the pace, 21-16. Rollins got back within one at the 4:49 mark, but the Mocs ended the half on a run and put the visitors from Winter Park down 37-25 at intermission.
Rollins got as close as six in the third and trailed 47-40 after a Sharpe jumper with 3:06 left in the period. FSC then went on a 15-3 run the rest of the frame and pushed the Tars into a 62-43 hole.
Southern then shortened the game in the fourth by going deep in the shot clock on offense as Rollins wouldn't get any closer than 17 the rest of the way.
Rollins starts a three game homestand on Saturday, February 15, hosting Barry. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. at Warden Arena. Fans can catch the action live on the Tars Sports Network at RollinsSports.com and locally on 91.5 FM WPRK.
