WINTER PARK, Fla. (December 30, 2023) - Women's basketball extended their win streak to six games with a spectacular come-from-behind, overtime win against Saint Leo on Saturday. With the 62-55 win, Rollins improves to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in SSC play. The Lions drop to 8-4, 2-2 SSC.
Faith Newton put the Tars on the board with a jumper, followed by makes from
Ajalon Gillard and
Lucy Leen for an early 6-2 lead. Saint Leo would eventually overtake the Tars with a three to make the score 12-10, but Emily Mcintosh would answer back with a pair of threes, including a desperation bank shot at the buzzer from about 40 feet to make it 16-12 after one.
Saint Leo dominated in the second quarter, outscoring Rollins 20-9. After Gillard finished a layup in the paint at the 8:07 mark, neither team scored for almost four minutes. After the Lions broke the streak, they continued to pile on, and would take a 32-25 lead into the half.
The third quarter saw Saint Leo extend their lead as high as 12, but Rollins slowly started to cheap away. McIntosh hit a nice mid-range jumper, and followed that with her third three of the night to make it 39-33.
Grace Alfieri and
Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez each knocked down triples as well, leading to a 46-39 score after three.
The Tars held the Lions without a point for the first 3:30 of the quarter, and only allowed five total for the period. Unfortunately, the offense for Rollins also hit a stalemate as they went more than five minutes without scoring.
With four minutes to go, Saint Leo led 50-41. A furious comeback began when
Claire Erickson hit a layup, followed by a three from Leen. After a Lion free throw, Gillard knocked down a pair of freebies. Both teams would miss a few shots, and only one more field goal would be made in regulation. With fifty seconds to go, Irizarry-Perez skipped a pass across the court ot an open Leen, who swished a three from the corner to tie the game at 51 and send it to overtime.
Saint Leo scored the first four point of overtime, but Rollins refused to go down silently. An Erickson three, followed by a three-point play from
Erin Leigh, put Rollins on top 57-55. They would add five more free throws while allowing zero points for the remainder of the game, winning 62-55.
Once again the Tars defense was stellar, limiting the Lions to 18-59 (30.5%) shooting for the game. Erickson and McIntosh each had 11 points to lead the Rollins offense. Irizarry-Perez stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.
Rollins will head to Miami Shores to face the Barry Buccaneers in their next game. Tip is schedule for 5:30 pm on Wednesday, January 3.
