The Rollins Tars Women’s Basketball team is gearing up for its upcoming game against Florida Southern on Saturday, Jan. 22. The Tars will meet Florida Southern at home as fifth in the conference, with a season record an astounding 15-2. After their gut-wrenching loss to Eckerd by only one point, the Tars dropped five spots to be ranked 19th in the nation in Division II women’s basketball. Kristina Mingos ’12, leads the Tars in scoring with 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a game, with Amber Heistan ’11, close on her heels at 10.5 points a game.
To back up their excellent record, the Tars have something even more special: a team that works well together. Glenn Wilkes serves as head coach and is in his 25th season with the Rollins Tars.
Wilkes has the highest winning career record in Rollins Women’s Basketball history at 546-177. Wilkes says of this year’s team, “They work together very well; the team has great chemistry. They respect each other and it shows on the court.” The team includes two seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, and two first-year students, all from various places across the nation. Heistan, team captain, believes that the team’s diversity really helps them all and adds to their uniqueness. Sarah Blackburn ‘14, one of the big scorers in the recent game against St. Leo, agrees with Heistan and Coach Wilkes, stating, “Everyone on the team gets along very well which creates cohesiveness and a dominate chemistry many can see on the basketball court.”
The Tars’ chemistry assists them on the court as well as in their personal, social and academic lives. Blackburn explains the importance of the basketball team to her Rollins experience as a first-year, saying, “Being on the team has been a major impact because the team is like my family, I have a great bond with many of the players and I love being around all the girls. As a freshman, it’s a big adjustment and sometimes stressful; however, many of the girls are easy to talk to and have helped me get through the stressful times.”
The future looks promising for the Tars as they approach the rest of the conference season, but it is not over yet. Coach Wilkes states, “We’ve got to fight the injury bug right now and find ways to win games.
If any team can do that it would be this one.” The Tars have only 11 games left before the Sunshine State Conference tournaments the first week in March. If fans cannot catch the upcoming game against Florida Southern on Saturday, check out www.rollinssports.com for news and updates.
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