SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo freshman Mary Redmond tallied a game-high 17 points, one shy of her career high, but a strong second-half performance from visiting Rollins College propelled the 14th-ranked Tars to a 64-46 win over the Lions, in a Sunshine State Conference women's basketball matchup Saturday at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
Redmond went 5-of-12 from the floor, with all five of her field goals coming from beyond the arc – setting a new career-high from three-point range.
Senior Kinnara Lewis tallied 13 points, while senior Melissa Jackson charted five points to go with her team-high 10 rebounds.
The 14th-ranked Tars had two players score in double-digits, led by Sarah Taylor with 16 points in 26 minutes on the court. Ashley Losch recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Rollins (18-2, 9-1 Sunshine State Conference) shot 40.0 percent from the field versus Saint Leo, while holding the Lions to 25.9 percent shooting.
In the first half, Saint Leo (7-14, 2-9 Sunshine State Conference) erased a deficit that got to nine points by the 15:24 mark of the frame and still saw the Lions trailing by seven, 22-15, with as little as 7:58 to play in the half. The Green and Golf outscored Rollins, 7-2, over the next two minutes of play to close the gap to two points.
Saint Leo eventually knotted the game at 30-30 with 47 seconds remaining in the opening half, before a late jumper by the Tars' Sarah Taylor sent Rollins into the break with a 32-30 lead.
The Lions' Chachi Guzman hit the second of two free throws in the opening minute of the second half, briefly pulling Saint Leo to within one of Rollins before a 12-5 run widened the lead in the Tars' favor.
Rollins' lead eventually reached double figures on Emmalee Schill's jumper at the 9:04 mark, giving the Tars a 51-40 lead. The Tars outscored the Lions, 18-6, over the final 12 minutes of the game, with all the Saint Leo points coming off a pair of Redmond three-pointers.
Saint Leo returns to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 11, when the Lions travel to Lakeland, Fla., to face Florida Southern (9-10, 3-6 SSC). Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
For more information on the Saint Leo women's basketball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
