As the winter season rapidly approaches, Rollins’ women’s basketball team prepares for their upcoming season.
Entering the pre-season as the number-one-ranked team, the Tars kicked off the first of three preseason games, caming out on top against Daytona State 80 to 71.
The game, played on Oct. 26, had a slow start at the beginning of both halves. However, Rollins pulled it together and left the Alfond Sports Center victoriously.
The leading scorer for the game was Denise Daniels ‘20 with 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Another stand out for the Tars was Tianna Rosser ‘19 with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Carly McLendon, who was SCC Defensive Player of the Year for 2016-17, did not disappoint with nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks of her own.
In her first game for the Tars, Rachel Jablonski ‘21 put up 12 points and Jaylyn Harrison ‘20 had 8 points and 6 assists. Nine different players put points on the board for Rollins. in the end, it was a hard-fought game that came down to free throws.
As the favorite in the preseason poll, the Tars have a mission to win their 14th Sunshine State Conference title and extend their accomplishments by making it past the “Sweet Sixteen.”
The women have no issues in experience with 10 returners including seniors Jasmine Stone, Julia Ingler, Nikki Corsini, Jo Bistrow and Keevana Edwards all looking to go out with a ring. This will come easier with the help of Carly McLendon ‘19 who is a stand out on defense and consistently contributes points to the board.
Key returners such as Rosser, Vernisha Andrews ‘19 and Daniels, who was last year’s freshman stand-out, all look to continue the Tars’ dominance across the conference.
All the Tars have major goals for the season, when speaking with Rosser she expressed the team’s “desire to be the best rebounding and defensive team in the conference” and of course “making it to the elite eight.”
The Tars look to continue their preseason exhibitions against Rhodes College on Nov. 3 and the Costa Rica national team on Nov. 6, both games will be played at home. The regular season kicks off Wednesday, Nov. 15 at home against Florida Tech.
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