Box Score LAKELAND – Florida Southern's inability to finish strong allowed the No. 13 Rollins Tars to pull away in the second half of their 16-point victory, 62-46, Wednesday night at Jenkins Field House.
An ugly theme in the Moccasins' (9-8, 3-5 SSC) conference losses has been their poor performances late in games. While the offense went on a 5:16 scoring drought, the defense watched the Tars piece together a 10-1 run that turned a nine-point deficit into an 18-point hole.
"It's disappointing because we're right there and we just don't finish," said first-year head coach Betsy Harris. "I'm all about finishing, starting and finishing things, and I'm trying to get this team to do that.
"It's frustrating because they can beat anybody they want to. I feel like today we could have beaten Rollins."
The Tars (15-2, 7-1 SSC) have now won seven consecutive games against the Mocs, their longest win streak of the series, which dates back to 1979.
After averaging 44.0 percent shooting from the field in their previous three games, and scoring a season-high 90 points in Saturday's win over Lynn, the Mocs shot only 31.6 percent (18-for-57) Wednesday night while mustering a season-low in points scored.
"We got to make shots," Harris said. "We scored 90 points on Saturday and then we come in here and score 46. I told them if they make shots they have a chance to beat this team, and we missed a lot of open shots, and that's what got us."
The Mocs netted the opening basket on a Christin Strawbridge (Lakeland, Fla.) layup 30 seconds into the game. Forty-seconds later, senior guard Cashala Thompson (Tucson, Ariz.) hit her first 3-pointer to give the home team a 5-2 advantage.
Tied at 8-all, Rollins freshman Julia Ingler sunk a trey to give the Tars a three-point cushion. After a Jensen Blassage jumper on the other end, another 3-pointer from sophomore Marie Gilbert gave the visitors a 14-12 lead.
Danielle Thomas (Conyers, Ga.) knotted the game at 14-14, causing Rollins head coach Glenn Wilkes Jr. to call a timeout at 11:08. Following the break, his team went on a 15-5 run over the next 6:56. The run was spurred by a Jasmine Stone 3-pointer at 10:52.
Wilkes' Tars then made their last four field goals before the break and carried a 35-26 lead in the locker room.
As they did in the first half, Strawbridge and Thompson combined for FSC's first five points in the second. Sitting sixth all-time in school history with 104 career treys, Thompson buried her third of the game at 17:32 to reduce the Rollins lead to six points, 37-31.
Ingler killed the momentum the Mocs tried to build over the next five-plus minutes. Thompson scored her fourth 3-pointer and then forced a turnover on the ensuing Rollins possession, allowing senior guard Syerra Davis (Tolleson, Ariz.) to go coast-to-coast for a layup at 13:29. However, Ingler struck for three at 12:09, extending the Tars lead to back to nine points, 47-38.
Strawbridge's layup at 9:27 was the last bucket for the Mocs before the scoring drought set in. The 6-1 forward had eight points on the night.
Florida Southern managed to hold Rollins senior Emmalee Schill, the team's leading scorer and the reigning Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week, to only four points, her worst offensive game of the season. Senior Sarah Taylor stepped up for a team-high 12 points and Ingler followed with 11.
Thompson led the Mocs with 12 points in her second-straight game with four treys.
Like Strawbridge, Blassage had eight points. With two free throws, the freshman from Rockford, Ill., is now 18-for-19 from the foul line in conference play and 24-for-25 since Dec. 19.
"Jensen's not a freshman anymore, she's in her sophomore year now," Harris said. "I'm really proud of Jensen. She has the highest basketball IQ on the team."
"She's getting better each game," Harris added. "It should be scary for the other teams in the future."
Davis grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points and four assists.
The Mocs hit the road this Saturday, Jan. 31 as they head to West Palm Beach, Fla., for their second matchup of the 2014-15 season with the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish at 2 p.m. On Dec. 5, 2014, FSC topped the Sailfish in overtime, 65-64, on a Sydni Payne (Conyers, Ga.) game-winning 3-point field goal.
