The women’s basketball team has begun the season with a strong 5-1 record, its only loss coming to last year’s Division II National Champion Clayton State. This year’s team is poised for a successful season after the Sunshine State Conference named the Tars first in its preseason polls.
“The ranking was really encouraging. This year’s team has a lot of talent and chemistry” said Kristina Mingos ‘12. “We also returned a number of experienced players from last year who know the system.”
The Tars lineup plays a four out, one in offense, which takes advantage of the amount of talent on the team. The team has five seniors, two of whom are currently starting, while five substitutes are regularly used.
Ashley Jones ‘15 transferred from Mississippi State University and was once named Florida Player of the Year while attending Lake Howell High School in Casselberry, Fla. Jones has also led the team in rebounding in two games and is already leaving her impact on the scoreboard, leading in scoring against Johnson C. Smith University.
“I expect for us to continue to work hard, get better and for our coaches to continue coaching well,” said Jones. “With that being done, we should be very successful.” The Tars play under the strong, veteran leadership of head coach Glenn Wilkes Jr., who is currently ranked 39th in the NCAA (in every division) amongst all active coaches. Wilkes Jr. is the son of Florida Hall of Fame coach Glenn Wilkes Sr,. who coached at Stetson University. Currently, Wilkes Jr. has 553 wins in his 26 years here at Rollins.
The Tars are coming off a victory against non-conference opponent Johnson C. Smith University. The Tars were down by 17 points at one point and rallied back to force overtime. This tough non-conference win is set to propel Rollins into a tough conference schedule. First on the schedule is the University of Tampa, in which a win would propel the Tars into a top 10 national poll ranking.
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