AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team played for the first time in three and a half weeks on Monday afternoon, and survived a test from the Fisher College Falcons in a 56-47 victory at the Tom Golisano Field House. The Gyrenes forced 17 turnovers and held the Falcons' leading scorer to only three points to move to 12-2 on the season.

The game got off to a slow start, with neither offense shooting better than 20 percent in the opening quarter. The Gyrenes scored four of their eight points from the free throw line, with the only field goals coming from Taylor Lopez and Danielle Weinmann, who scored five points in the opening frame to give Ave Maria an 8-6 edge. 

Both teams picked up the pace offensively in the second quarter, as both teams put 14 points on the board to account for a 22-20 halftime score. Fisher led at two different points in the frame at 18-17 and 20-19, but Ave kept the Falcons off the board in the final two minutes of the quarter to retake the lead. The AMU defense stifled Fisher's leading scorer in the opening 20 minutes, limiting Vivian Lara to just two points 1-of-13 shooting. Weinmann's ten points led the Gyrenes at halftime, while Sarah Miller followed with five points and eleven rebounds. 

Ave Maria never trailed in the second half, and led by as many as seven points in the third quarter. Fisher pulled as close as three points twice in the third, but AMU was able to stifle each run to claim a 38-34 lead entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Fisher pulled within two points at the beginning of the frame, but the Gyrenes were able to outscore the Falcons 18-11 in the final nine minutes to ensure the nine-point victory. As a team, Ave Maria shot 42.3 percent from the field in the second half, led by nine points from Miller and eight from Amanda Kasprzak. 

Weinmann led all scorers with 17 points, with Miller following with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Miller's effort was her tenth double double of the season, the second-highest total at the NAIA Division II level. The victory came despite the Gyrenes making only one of their 12 three-point attempts and turning the ball over 17 times. Jenny-Lynn Eggers and Piper Mali both scored ten points to pace the visiting Falcons.

The same two teams will play again on New Year's Day, which will mark the final of four games played by Fisher College in the state of Florida. The Gyrenes and Falcons will tip off at 2:00 p.m. at the Tom Golisano Field House.