AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team saw their 20-win season come to an end on Tuesday night, as the Johnson and Wales University Wildcats claimed a 66-63 victory in the quarterfinals of The Sun Conference Tournament at the Tom Golisano Field House. Ave Maria had two possible game-tying three-pointers fall short in the final 10 seconds to end the season.

A low-scoring first quarter saw Ave Maria grab a 10-9 lead after the opening ten minutes. Mallory Burton and Sarah Miller each scored four points in the first quarter, with six of the eight points coming in an 8-2 run that gave AMU their first lead of the game. Johnson and Wales hit a runner in the closing moments of the quarter to cut Ave Maria's lead to one heading into the second quarter.

Johnson and Wales' only winning quarter, which was enough to move on to the conference semifinals, saw the Wildcats outscore AMU 21-14 in the second quarter. The biggest run of the quarter was a 17-7 run by the Wildcats, who led by as many as eight points. Miller hit a pair of free throws on Ave's final possession of the half, giving Ave Maria a six-point deficit to deal with entering the halftime break.

An evenly played third quarter kept the Johnson and Wales lead at six points, despite the lead getting as big as nine points and as small as one. AMU cut the Johnson and Wales lead to 30-29 on a Burton and-one with 6:53 left in the quarter, but JWU rattled off a 8-0 run to stretch the lead to nine. Johnson and Wales entered the fourth quarter leading 46-40.

Ave Maria attempted to rally in the fourth quarter, but could not string together another stops and scores to erase the Wildcat lead. Johnson and Wales again grabbed a nine-point lead and never had the lead dip below four points until the final minute. Down three with 13 seconds left, the Gyrenes forced a JWU turnover to get one final chance to tie the game. Three-point attempts from Lauren Gillingham, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter, and Macarena Corral just missed, sending Johnson and Wales to the semifinals.

Miller put together a valiant effort for the Gyrenes, scoring 20 points and pulling down 16 rebounds. Burton was the only other Gyrene in double figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Three Wildcats were in double figures, led by 20 points from JoNae Gonzales. Tianna Ayulo added 19 points, and Diamond Williams chipped in 16.

Johnson and Wales will face No. 1 Southeastern in the semifinal round on Friday in Lakeland. Ave Maria's season comes to an end at 20-9, the program's first 20-win season since the 2013-2014 program. The season contained a number of historic moments, including a 10-0 start, a 16-point comeback against Webber International, and the program's first home conference tournament game in four years. Five seniors depart the AMU program with their best season on campus, while the remaining players build towards the 2018-19 season.