MELBOURNE, Fla. (January 28, 2023) - Rollins completed their regular season sweep of SSC rival Florida Tech with a 61-53 win in Melbourne on Saturday. The win moves Rollins to 8-11 on the year with a 3-9 record in SSC play. Tech falls to 3-14 (1-12 SSC).
Florida Tech jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but Rollins was able to come back and tie the game at seven all. After the Panthers took another lead,
Erin Leigh's three-pointer once again tied the score, this time at twelve. Then, in the final 20 seconds of the quarter,
Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez was able to convert in the paint to give the Tars a 14-12 lead after one.
In the second quarter, Florida Tech was able to bounce back and take a lead. However, a make from distance by
Lucy Leen and a
Kymora Westerfield layup put the Tars back on top. Leen then extended the lead with a layup and a free throw to make the score 26-20. After the Panthers pulled within one, Rolllins as able to convert a pair of free throws from
Claire Erickson to head into the halftime break ahead 28-25.
The Panthers started the second half with a 5-0 run to take the lead, but the score was soon tied at 30 and then again at 32. Once more, Leen came through with a made three, followed bu a jumper from Leigh to give Rollins a 37-33 advantage. Moments later, a 7-0 run from the Tars put them up by six, and then an
Emily Dogbatse jumper late in the quarter put Rollins up 46-43 at the horn.
Dogbatse continued to lead the Tars in the fourth, scoring the first five points of the final frame. Westerfield and Erickson then added makes of their own to give Rollins a comfortable 55-47 lead. The Rollins offense would go cold, allowing Florida Tech to claw their way back into the game. They pulled with in two points, but a jumper from Erickson followed by four straight from Leigh gave Rollins a lead they would not relinquish, as they ended up winning 61-53.
Rollins finished with four players in double figures, including 14 each from Leen and Dogbatse, as well as ten a piece from Leigh and Erickson. Sarah Liberatore had a game-high 16 points in the loss for Tech.
The Tars will be back in action on Wednesday, February 1 at 5:30 pm against the Tampa Spartans.
