WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball bounced back from a two-game losing streak with a 63-54 victory over Bethel College, finishing 1-1 in a two game series at Keiser University. The Gyrenes overcame a 2-for-16 performance from three-point range by dominating the paint with a 40-24 edge.

Ave Maria trailed for most of the first quarter, holding their only lead at 3-2. The Pilots led by as many as six, 13-7, with just over a minute to play in the frame. A Jasmine Bateman and-one in the final minute pulled the Gyrenes within three points at 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.

The Gyrenes took the lead for good in the middle of the second quarter during a 10-3 run that turned a 14-10 deficit into a 20-17 lead. Ave also finished the quarter with a 7-0 spurt, capped by a jumper from Lauren Gillingham that gave the Gyrenes a 29-21 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Gyrenes began pulling away from the Pilots. Ave Maria led by as many as 19 points in the third frame, which included a 13-2 run and a stretch where the Gyrenes did not allow a field goal in nearly seven minutes. Bethel scored the final five points of the quarter, but the Gyrenes held a 46-32 edge entering the final ten minutes.

Mallory Burton scored each of Ave Maria's first three field goals of the fourth quarter, which helped the Gyrenes maintain a lead that remained in double digits until the final minute of the contest. In the final two minutes, Bethel went on a 10-1 run to cut a 16-point lead to seven, but two Burton free throws and two missed threes from the Pilots sealed the AMU victory.

The Gyrenes leaned heavily on three players that combined for 50 of the team's 63 points. Sarah Miller posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Gillingham followed with 17 points and eight rebounds. Burton rounded out the trio with 14 points. As a team, Ave forced 22 turnovers that became 23 points.

Bethel was led by Kamala Glenn, who scored 20 points. The other Pilot in double figures was Tahya Bruce, who scored ten points. 

Ave Maria returns to Sun Conference action on Thursday, when the Gyrenes welcome Coastal Georgia to the Tom Golisano Field House. Both teams enter the contest near the top of the conference standings, with CCG entering at 5-1 in the league and AMU coming in at 4-1.