Knights Take Duel Over Tars

WINTER PARK, Fla. (January 11, 2023) - The Rollins Tars dropped their third straight game, falling to the Lynn Fighting Knights on Wednesday by a score of 70-51. The loss drops Rollins to 6-9 on the year with a 1-7 record in SSC play.

After falling behind early, the Tars went on a quick 7-0 run that was sparked by five points from Emily Dogbatse. Lynn would counter with seven straight of their own to make it 13-7. However, Rollins played suffocating defense late in the quarter, and converted their stops into points, closing the period on am 8-0 run that included five points from Claire Erickson to end the first up 17-15. 

The second quarter was tough for both teams as the hoops were unforgiving. The Knights scored nine straight before the Tars were able to add to their point more than five minutes into the second quarter with a Kymora Westerfield three. Silvia Lasarte-Garcia then added a pair of buckets to tie the score at 24. Lynn retook the lead late, but an Erickson three with two seconds on the clock made it a 30-28 ballgame at half. 

Rollins shot 11-27 (40%) from the field and 5-13 (41%) from three in the first half. 

Mistakes and misses in the third quarter cost Rollins their chance to stay close. This time, Lynn scored ten straight to open the quarter while the Rollins offense struggled. They would end up being outscored by 16 in the third, and were down 53-35 in the game. 

Rollins played much better to close out the game in the fourth quarter. They cut the lead back down to single digits just three minutes into the final frame, thanks to a nifty steal and coast-to-coast and-one from Emily McIntosh and a Grace Alfieri three. The momentum was cut short however by a 10-0 run from the Knights. Both teams sank some free throws at the end of the game, which finished 70-51 in favor of Lynn. 

Erickson was the high-scorer for Rollins with 11 points. Lasarte added nine points and six boards. Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team. 

Next up for Rollins is a home match against the Florida Southern Mocs. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 14.