DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 22, 2023) - The Rollins Tars snapped a six-game skid with an impressive 79-77 win against Embry-Riddle on Wednesday. Rollins now stands 9-17 (4-15 SSC) while Embry-Riddle slips to 12-13 (7-12 SSC).
Rollins came out scorching hot in the first quarter, dropping 24 points on the Eagles. The three ball was dropping early as
Kymora Westerfield and
Erin Leigh each connected from deep. Leigh added four more points before the first media timeout to help Rollins to an 11-8 lead. Westerfield added a second triple, and
Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez scored four points in the final 39 seconds to give Rollins a 24-17 lead at the first horn.
Irizarry-Perez started the second with a three, followed by a layup from
Emily Dogbatse and a three-point play from
Claire Erickson. Moments later,
Lucy Leen nailed one from deep to give Rollins a ten-point lead, their largest of the first half After the Eagles cut the lead to one possession late, Irizarry-Perez and Westerfield each scored layups with under twenty seconds to go to keep Rollins comfortably ahead, 45-38 at the break.
Leigh scored the first six points of the third for Rollins, but ERAU came out hot as well, cutting the lead down to one. It was Leen coming through once more with a three to give the Tars a little breathing room. Nearly three minutes passed before Rollins scored again, but Erickson added another three-the-hard-way to make the score 57-53. Irizarry-Perez would follow suit and end the quarter with a three-point play, giving the Tars a seven point lead with one quarter to go.
In the fourth, Embry-Riddle once again put pressure on the Tars, chopping the lead all the way to one with five minutes to go. They failed to get the lead back though, thanks to another bucket from Leigh, followed by a three from her as well. The Eagles finally broke through with a three-pointer at the 1:39 mark to go up 72-71. Playing to the game script, it was Erickson coming through with her third three-point play of the game to reclaim the game for Rollins.
After ERAU tied the game up with under a minute to go, Rollins knocked down five free throws late to hang on for a 79-77 conference road win.
Leigh had a career-high 23 points on 9-16 shooting. She also added two boards and three assists. Irizarry-Perez added 20 points for the Tars, and secured a double-double with 11 rebounds as well.
Rollins will wrap up their season on Saturday at home against Palm Beach Atlantic. Seniors
Kymora Westerfield and
Silvia Lasarte will be honored before the game, followed by a 2:00 pm tipoff.
