MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. --- Reinhardt used a 29-15 second quarter to hold off the Lady Gyrenes after Ave Maria took an early first quarter lead. AMU outscored Reinhardt by a combined 10 points over the first and third quarter and trailed by four entering the fourth but couldn't cut into the Eagles lead.
 
Both teams showed a bit of rust from the field coming off the holiday break with both teams converting 38 percent of their shots from the field. AMU made ten threes on the afternoon behind Lauren Gillingham's 5-of-7 performance from three.
 
Gillingham led AMU with 27 points in 35 minutes. She also grabbed three rebounds. Sarah Miller added 10 points while Katie Houbolt finished with eight. Miller also finished with a team high six rebounds. Jasmine Bateman and Erin Koehler each added five rebounds. Macarena Corral finished with six assists and five steals to lead AMU in both categories.
 
A big factor in the game came at the free throw line with Reinhardt converting 18-of-24 from the charity stripe while Ave Maria was 4-for-4 on free throws.
 
Ave Maria came out firing, leading by as many of 11 in the opening quarter before Reinhardt cut the deficit to seven after one. An 11-2 run by the Eagles to start the second allowed them to take a two-points lead three minutes into the stanza. A few minutes later and with AMU trailing by one, 31-30, Reinhardt went on an 8-2 run to extend their lead to eight.
 
In the third quarter, Ave Maria went on an 13-2 spurt midway through the quarter to take a 51-48 advantage with 2:44 to play in the quarter. But Reinhardt responded with a run of their own to take a 55-51 edge into the fourth. The teams went back and forth in the final quarter with neither team able to put a run together.
 
Ave Maria moves to 4-5 on the season and will return to play in the Miami-Doral Hotels Classic as part of the NAIA Southeastern Challenge tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Bryan College (Tenn.).