WINTER PARK, Fla. (November 18, 2024) - Women's basketball instituted a strong defensive approach to the Puerto Rico Mayaguez Janes on Monday, limiting them to nine points in the first half, and 34 points overall. The win evens the Tars at 2-2 on the year, while UPR-Mayaguez falls to 0-3.
The game started with an
Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez three pointer, and then a suffocating effort from the Tars, who forced three turnovers on the Jane's first five possessions. The Tars converted a number of their opportunities to points, including an efficient 3-5 from distance and 46% from the floor. Rollins held Mayaguez scoreless for the final 4:47 of the quarter while scoring eleven unanswered to go up 23-6 at the end of one.
The Janes opened the second with a three pointer, and then failed to score again for the remainder of the period. It took a while for Rollins to take advantage of the drought, but they eventually ripped off 13 straight points to take a 36-9 lead into the break.
Claire Erickson sparked the offense in the third, scoring five straight for the Tars. Neither team was overly impressive shooting the ball in the quarter, but Rollins got a boost from Gillard at the buzzer when she stroked a three to make the score 48-20 after three.
The Mayaguez's credit, they never stopped playing hard, and sent on a 8-2 run to open the fourth. A nice three-point play from
Faith Newton took back some of the momentum, followed by a three from Erickson and a layup from Irizarry-Perez to put them back on top by thirty, 59-29.
Paris Triplett and
Caroline Swartz each added points at the end of the game, making the final of 64-34.
Emily McIntosh was the leading scorer in the well-balanced effort, scoring eleven with five rebounds. Gillard added ten points and four steals. Overall, ten different Tars found their names in the scoring column. The defense forced Mayaguez into 13 turnovers, and had four blocks with seven steals.
Next up for the Tars is a home game against Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening. Tipoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 6:00 pm from Warden Arena.
