AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Ave Maria women's basketball team will take on third-seeded Webber International on Friday night in a final four matchup of the 2015 Sun Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The game will begin at 5 p.m. and is being played at final four host St. Thomas in Miami Gardens.

THE SUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS

OPENING ROUND
#1 St. Thomas def. #8 Warner, 66-52
#7 Ave Maria def. #2 Southeastern, 60-59
#3 Webber def. #6 Florida Memorial, 61-57
#5 Thomas def. #4 Embry-Riddle, 72-61
 
FINAL FOUR (HOSTED BY ST. THOMAS)
#1 St. Thomas vs. #5 Thomas - Friday, 7 p.m. (Live Stats | Live Video)
#3 Webber vs. #7 Ave Maria - Friday,  5 p.m. (Live Stats | Live Video)

CHAMPIONSHIP (HOSTED BY ST. THOMAS)
TBA vs. TBA - Saturday, 3 p.m. (Live Stats | Live Video)

BLUE AND GREEN NEWS

The Lady Gyrenes won a thriller against Southeastern in the opening round of the tournament as the Blue and Green knocked off the two-seed fire, 60-59. The teams went back-and-forth for most of the game but AMU was able to build a small lead late in the game and a pair of free throws by Madison McDonald with 2.1 seconds remaining helped seal the win for the Lady Gyrenes.
 
In the win against the Fire, Annie Artise led a balanced offensive attack for the Lady Gyrenes with 14 points and seven rebounds. Madison McDonald and Lauren Gillingham each added 12 points. Taylor Lindsey also finished in double-figures with 10 points. Both McDonald and Lindsey each pulled in seven boards apiece.
 
The Lady Gyrenes shot 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the floor and made nine threes. Southeastern made 19-of-53 from the field and matched the Lady Gyrenes nine makes from behind the arc. AMU converted 11-of-13 from the free throw line compared to 12-of-19 by the Fire. The teams combined to take 51 shot attempts from behind the arc.
 
On the season, McDonald has averaged 14.8 points to lead the Blue and Green. She also has recorded team highs in assists (112) and steals (51). Artise is right behind McDonald in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game. Artise ranks second on the team with 7.1 rebounds per game and 50 assists. With 7.5 boards per contest, Yvanessa Vincent leads the team in rebounding.
 
SCOUTING THE ST. THOMAS

St. Thomas earned the top seed in the conference tournament after a 25-4 regular season and a 17-1 mark in TSC play. The Lady Bobcats defeated Warner in their opening game of the tournament by a score of 66-52. The Lady Gyrenes fell in both matchups against St. Thomas in the regular season. The Blue and Green dropped a 70-65 decision against the Lady Bobcats on Jan. 7 at home and fell on the road to St. Thomas 70-50 on Feb. 7.
 
Two-time NAIA National Player of the Week, Dannisha Pierce led St. Thomas in both matchups against the Lady Gyrenes. Pierce recorded 37 points and five rebounds in the first matchup with AMU. She was 13-of-17 from the floor and 11-of-13 from the charity stripe. In the second game, Pierce had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists against the Lady Gyrenes.

Lindsey and Artise have each had success against St. Thomas this season. Artise had 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists in game one and followed that up with 13 points in game two. Lindsey has averaged 14.5 points in the two games against the Lady Bobcats.

SCOUTING THE WEBBER INTERNATIONAL

Webber finished the regular season with a 20-6 overall record and a 13-5 record in conference action. The Lady Warriors defeated six-seed Florida Memorial 61-57 in the opening round game to advance to the final four. The Lady Gyrenes and Lady Warriors split the two regular season meeting with each team protecting home court.
 
At Webber back in December, the Blue and Green fell 65-46. The Lady Gyrenes evened the season series with an 81-65 win at Tom Golisano Field House on Jan. 31. Deslyn Applewhaite will be a player to watch for Webber International. She is averaging 12.26 points per game on the season and is averaging 16.5 points per game against the Lady Gyrenes this season. She had a season-high 22 points against the Blue and Green in the first matchup with AMU.
 
McDonald has averaged 15.5 points per game this season against Webber and scored 19 against the Lady Warriors in the first meeting. In the second meeting with WIU, four Lady Gyrenes scored in double-figures led by Artise (25), Gillingham (16), Lindsey (16), and McDonald (12). Both Artise and Gillingham recorded double-doubles in the game two win.
 
SCOUTING THE THOMAS (GA.)

The season series with Thomas featured a pair of lopsided wins by the home teams. Thomas took game one in the season series 73-57 after holding on to a large first half lead. In game two in Ave, the Lady Gyrenes outscored Thomas by 15 in the second half to run away with a 79-60 win.
 
Tess Wright led the Night Hawks in game one with 17 points but the Blue and Green held her scoreless in the matchup at Ave. Courtney Sands has averaged 13.5 points in the two games against AMU while Ivory Smith has averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the two meetings.
 
Artise has averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds against Thomas this season. McDonald scored 10 points and added 10 dimes in the first meeting. Vincent has fared well against the Night Hawks, averaging 10.5 points and nine rebounds in the two meetings. Vincent recorded a double in game two of the series with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Lindsey and Gillingham added 18 points and 16 points, respectively, for the Lady Gyrenes in AMU's game two win.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS AND NAIA DIVISION II NATIONAL RANKINGS

Ave Maria University Currently Ranks:

• Ranks Number 8 in Division II in Total Rebound Defense (34.000)
• Ranks Number 15 in Division II in Total 3-Pt FG Made (220)
• Ranks Number 22 in Division II in 3-Pt Fg Made per Game (7.097)
• Ranks Number 23 in Division II in Free Throw Pct (0.724)
• Ranks Number 35 in Division II in Total Rebound Margin (4.290)
• Ranks Number 36 in Division II in Total Blocks (97)
• Ranks Number 38 in Division II in Total Scoring Offense (2128)
• Ranks Number 41 in Division II in Blocks per Game (3.129)
• Ranks Number 42 in Division II in Scoring Defense per Game (63.355)
• Ranks Number 45 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (13.677)
• Ranks Number 47 in Division II in Total Assists (417)
• Ranks Number 49 in Division II in Turnover Margin (1.000)
• Ranks Number 50 in Division II in Scoring Margin (5.290) 

Ave Maria Individual Rankings:

• Yvanessa Vincent Ranks Number 19 in Division II in Offensive Rebounds per Game (3.581)
• Madison McDonald Ranks Number 41 in Division II in Total Assists (112)
• Madison McDonald Ranks Number 47 in Division II in Total Scoring (459)
• Yvanessa Vincent Ranks Number 48 in Division II in Total Total Rebounds (232)