WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 14, 2024) - Women's basketball struggled to keep with the Embry-Riddle Eagles on Wednesday, eventually falling by a score of 78-66. The loss eves up the Tars' record on the season at 11-11, including an 8-8 mark in the SSC. The Eagles improve to 17-5, 11-4 SSC.
Both team started hot, with the Tars scoring on their first three possessions, and ERAU on their first three of four. Those three makes for the Eagles were all from long range, giving them a 9-7 lead. Later in the quarter, a triple from
Erin Leigh cut the lead to 18-17, but Embry-Riddle would build it back to 23-19 at the end of one.
The second quarter was a rough start for both teams. The Tars didn't get complete their first field goal until a
Maddie Dillinger layup at the 5:33 mark. Still, they only trailed by seven at that point. Embry-Riddle started to pull away in the next few minutes, but
Lucy Leen did her best to keep Rollins in the game with a pair of threes. Neither team would score in the final two minutes of the half as Embry-Riddle led 38-30 at half.
Aaliyah Irizarry-Perez hit a pair of shots and grabbed seemingly every rebound to start the third.
Claire Erickson added a three from the corner to pull Rollins within six at the halfway point of the period. However, the offense would hit a wall in the final few minutes, and Rollins found themselves down 56-44 after three.
The fourth quarter provided some excitement as the Tars refused to give up.
Ajalon Gillard hit threes on back-to-back possessions to bring the lead back to single digits. A Gillard layup would make the score 59-54 with six minutes to go before Kailey Turpening hit a shot from the floor, the first of the quarter for the Eagles. That was the start of a 13-0 run for Embry-Riddle, icing the game before the final of 78-66.
Rollins had one of their best three-point shooting nights of the season, knocking down 13 total at a 43% clip. Unfortunately, they shot 11-36 (30%) from two for the game. Leen was the leading scorer with 15 points, while Dillinger contributed a double-double with 13 points and ten rebounds.
Next up for the Tars is a road match against #21 Tampa on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm.
