AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team used a big second quarter and a stifling defense to win their second conference game in a row, toppling the Bobcats of St. Thomas University, 55-47. Ave Maria moved to .500 in Sun Conference play with the victory.
 
AMU took control of the game in the second quarter, after claiming an 18-17 advantage in the opening ten minutes. The Gyrenes outscored St. Thomas 17-4 in the second period, shutting down a potent Bobcat offense. The quarter included an 11-0 run, and the Gyrene defense kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard for over five minutes during the run. Ave Maria held St. Thomas to 30.8% shooting in the first half, while themselves shooting 48.1%.
 
The 14-point halftime lead withstood any comeback attempts by the Bobcats, who closed the gap to six in the fourth quarter. Ave put the game away from there, partially thanks to a perfectly executed backdoor play to Kandice Smith.
 
Ave Maria's defense limited St. Thomas to just a 33.3 shooting percentage, both from the field and behind the arc. The Gyrenes were able to create high-percentage opportunities, posting a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint. Ave Maria was able to turn 11 offensive rebounds into 10 points, and only allowed St. Thomas to score two points on their eleven offensive rebounds. After allowing 17 points in the first ten minutes, the Gyrenes would allow just 30 in the final 30 minutes.
 
Jasmine Bateman paced the Gyrenes offense, scoring 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Bateman played for 38 of the game's 40 minutes. Sarah Miller posted another double-double, pulling down 15 rebounds two days after a 17 rebound effort against Johnson and Wales. Miller was AMU's second leading scorer with 11.
 
St. Thomas' offense ran through Samara Auguste, who scored over half of the Bobcats' points- 24 of 47. Auguste knocked down a game-high four threes, and also had five steals. Desanta' Franklin Jordan neared a double-double with eleven points and eight rebounds. The Gyrenes were aided in the victory by St. Thomas' free throw shooting struggles, which saw the visitors shoot 7-of-19 from the foul line.
 
The Gyrenes have a quick turnaround before their next contest, the traditional exhibition against Florida Gulf Coast University. The tipoff between Ave Maria and the Division I opponent is set for 1:00 p.m. at Alico Arena on the FGCU campus. The FGCU game is the third in a stretch of four contests in six days, which concludes on Tuesday with a road game against St. Leo University.