AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to the Warner University Royals on Saturday afternoon, as a last-second three fell short in a 43-40 decision. Ave Maria led by as much as 13 in the contest, but fell to 6-7 in Sun Conference play.
 
Ave Maria dominated the first quarter, surging to a 17-4 lead in the opening 10 minutes. After allowing the first basket of the game, the Gyrenes scored the next 12 points and 17 of the next 19 to take a 13 point lead into the second quarter. Warner cut into the deficit in the second quarter, outscoring the Gyrenes 15-9 in the second frame.
 
The first half scoring was spread around for the Gyrenes, with four players between five and seven points. For much of the first half, the Ave Maria defense frustrated Warner, as the Royals shot just 32 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
 
AMU maintained the lead throughout the fourth quarter despite Warner cutting the deficit to two with 2:56 to play in the frame. Ave Maria responded to the one-possession game by scoring the final six points of the quarter to hold a 37-29 at the start of the final period. The Royals scored the first ten points of the fourth quarter, taking their first lead since the game was 2-0. Ave Maria cut the lead to one, 41-40, on a Lauren Gillingham free throw, but two Warner free throws and a pair of stops allowed the Royals to escape Ave Maria with a win.
 
The Gyrenes were held to just three points, all from Gillingham, in the fourth quarter.
 
Lauren Gillingham led Ave Maria with 10 points, while Mallory Burton, Sarah Miller, and Katie Houbolt each had eight. Miller posted 13 rebounds in the losing effort, while Erin Koehler added six points and eight rebounds. Warner's leading scorer was Kaley Schmick, who recorded 13 points. Ave Maria controlled the rebounding battle, outrebounding the Royals by a 43-27 margin. However, Warner turned 25 AMU turnovers into 21 points, which proved to be critical in Warner's early fourth quarter run.
 
The Gyrenes' next game is Thursday evening, a criticial Sun Conference contest with the Bobcats of St. Thomas University. Ave Maria is locked in a battle for qualification and positioning in The Sun Conference Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Miami Gardens.