MELBOURNE, Fla. (February 4, 2026) – Rollins women's basketball earned a hard-fought conference victory on Wednesday night, edging Florida Tech 53–51 inside the Clemente Center.
The Panthers struck first, but
Elaina Kline-Ruminski quickly answered with a layup to even the score. After Florida Tech regained the advantage,
Claire Erickson finished inside off a
Grace Craig assist to tie things again before Kline-Ruminski added another bucket in the paint to give the Tars their first lead.
Faith Newton extended the edge with a three-pointer, but the Panthers continued to battle back. Erickson answered a pair of points from the Panthers to keep the lead in favor of Rollins, Craig pushing it to five on a layup a couple of minutes later. FIT answered, but Kline Ruminski kept it a two-possession game with a layup. The Panthers closed out the quarter with a layup and three free throws to retake the lead 16-15 after one.
An opening basket from Tech saw Newton hit a free throw to keep it close, opening it for Kline-Ruminski to nail a three to retake the lead. Craig's layup off the delivery from
Tara Murray kept the lead, but an answer from the Panthers evened it up before retaking the lead. Murray hit the equalizer from beyond the arc, but the tie was short-lived as Tech regained the advantage. A pair of layups from
Victoria Escribano, both assisted by Erickson, helped the Tars go toe-to-toe with the Panthers, keeping it a one-point game going into half.
The back-and-forth carried over into the third as Erickson made the layup to snag back the lead. Kline-Ruminski and Craig both earned buckets to extend the lead, Florida Tech answering to stay at a one-possession game. Newton's three off the pass from Craig earned it back, but the Panthers flipped it back their way after consecutive baskets. Erickson made a layup to give it back to the Tars; however, another run from FIT earned back the lead, making it a five-point game in favor of the Panthers. Erickson's three slowed the bleeding, opening it up for Murray to hit a three and put Rollins up 45-44. The answer by Florida Tech came from behind the arc, making it 47-45 after three for the Panthers.
Craig tied things up out of the quarter break. Tech broke a two-minute scoring lull to swing the momentum back their way. The Panthers tagged on a few more points at the line, but Escribano tallied another for the Tars to make it a one-possession game. Newton earned her way into the lane and scored, bringing it within one with just under five to play, opening it up for Kline-Ruminski to lay in the ultimate decision to take the lead. The Tars continued to get stops, Craig ultimately hitting the free throw to make the difference and give the Tars the 53-51 win.
Kline-Ruminski led the way with 13 points, while Erickson added 11 alongside a team-high five assists. Craig anchored the boards with 14 rebounds to go with nine points, and Newton chipped in nine of her own.
Tara Murray provided an efficient spark off the bench, finishing with six points on perfect shooting from beyond the arc. As a team, Rollins shot 40.7% from the field and outrebounded Florida Tech 35–36 in a game that featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.
Rollins improves to 7–14 overall and 2–12 in SSC play, while Florida Tech moves to 7–14 (4–10 SSC). The Tars return home on Saturday, February 7, for a 2 p.m. contest with Florida Southern.
