LAKELAND, Fla. (January 22, 2025) - Women's basketball suffered their fourth-straight loss on Wednesday, dropping a SSC road contest at Florida Southern, 76-69. The Tars now stand at 7-10 overall with a 2-8 record in SSC play. The Mocs improve to 9-8, 4-6 SSC
After falling behind early,
Ajalon Gillard and
Claire Erickson helped bring the Tars back with a couple of threes in the first quarter. When
Maddie Dillinger got in on the scoring party with a strong post move, it gave Rollins their first lead, 10-9, about half way through the first. Gillard added another triple, but the offense went cold from there with zero points in the final 4:17. They trailed 17-13 after one.
Both teams were feeling it in the second, going for 21 points each. Again, it was Gillard with a big shot, her third three of the game to tie the game at 18. Rollins then controlled the next few minutes as their defense kept the Mocs off the board, while the offense saw the lead grow to nine on a
Zai Mitchell three. Unfortunately, a 13-0 run from Southern put the game back in their hands, as they took a 38-34 lead into the break.
The first five minutes of the third saw exactly one shot made between the two teams, a three from
Kaitlyn Sanders. The pacing picked up eventually, including a fifth three from Gillard to make it a one-point game at 44-43. The Mocs rattled off five straight points to end the period, leading 55-48.
Once again, both teams got hot, leading to a barrage of points to start the fourth. The Mocs went up by as many as twelve, but the Tars did not give up. Dillinger helped lead the way with six points, while
Zai Mitchell added five.
With 2:33 to go, Gillard turned a steal into a layup, making it a 71-67 game. Rollins would not get an closer though, as Southern was sharp enough from the line to maintain their lead and walk away with a 76-69 win.
Gillard ended her night with a career-high 25 points, including five made threes. She also added eight rebounds and three assists. Mitchell added twelve, while Sanders led the team with eight assists.
Next up for the Tars is a home game against Barry on Saturday, January 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm from Warden Arena.
