Box Score WINTER PARK, Fla. – The No. 13 Nova Southeastern University women's basketball team fell on the road Wednesday night to No. 10 Rollins, 74-61.
The Tars (12-1, 4-0 SSC) came out of the gate hot, scoring the first 10 points and handing the Sharks (11-3, 3-2 SSC) their first double-digit deficit of the season just 3:07 in. They extended the lead to 21-8 at 13:22, but NSU stormed back with a 14-1 run over the next 6:11 to take the lead at 23-22. Included in the spurt were three 3-pointers by
Molly Blomer (Jr., West Chester, Ohio)
Unfortunately for the Sharks, that would be their only lead of the game. Rollins scored the next nine points, and though a
Jasmine Wilkins (R-Sr., Miami) 3-pointer cut it to three with one minute left, the Tars handed the Sharks their first halftime deficit, down five, 37-32.
Both teams started out cold after the break. Rollins got their first field goal at 17:47, the Sharks theirs at 17:17 on a nice drive and pass from
Monaye Merritt (R-Jr., Philadelphia) to Wilkins on the block for the easy layin. The next Tars basket put them up eight, and the Sharks went on a 10-2 run to cut it to two at the 15:46 mark, culminating in an
Alexis Murphy (Jr., Carlisle, Ohio) '3.'
That was the closest the team would get. Rollins went on a 19-5 stretch over the next nine minutes to push ahead by 16 and the lead was double digits the remainder of the game.
"Rollins shot the ball extremely well, it was their best offensive shooting performance of the season," said head coach LeAnn Freeland. "Unfortunately, our poor communication gave them wide open looks."
Wilkins posted her second double-double of the year, with team highs of 13 points and 12 rebounds. Blomer had 12 points, all in the first half, while Murphy added 12 as well. Merritt had seven of the team's 13 steals and a team-best four assists.
Freshman Julia Ingler led Rollins with a career-best 22 points, including a 6-of-7 showing from 3-point range. Sarah Taylor added 17 points and eight rebounds.
The Sharks look to rebound on Saturday when they make the short trip south to Miami Shores to take on the Barry Bucs at 2 p.m.
"Great teams are ready for opportunities, and Rollins was more than ready," said Freeland. "In order to be able to compete against the best teams in the SSC, we need to commit to team principles on both ends of the court."
