THOMASVILLE, Ga.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team won their seventh game in their last eight tries on Thursday evening, rallying for a 67-57 victory over Thomas University on the road. The Gyrenes have lost only to undefeated Southeastern in the last three weeks.

Ave Maria jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, led by two three-pointers from Lauren Gillingham in the opening two minutes. The final seven minutes of the first quarter belonged to the Night Hawks, who outscored the Gyrenes 12-2. The run included 12 unanswered points from the hosts, which flipped a five-point AMU lead into a seven-point edge for Thomas. 

The second quarter was played evenly, with each team scoring eleven points to account for a 28-23 halftime score. Thomas did not relinquish their lead in the second quarter, leading by as many as seven points and as few as one. The Night Hawks scored the final four points of the quarter on two layups from Alisha Clayton, giving TU a five-point edge.

In the third quarter, Ave Maria seized control with a 22-11 frame. An and-one from Gillingham gave the Gyrenes the lead for good with 5:22 to play, and a three-pointer from Gillingham put Ave Maria up by seven with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter, the team's biggest lead in the opening three frames. A free throw from Thomas' Dymon Brown trimmed the AMU lead to six points after three.

Thomas hung around in the fourth quarter, getting as close as three points on numerous occasions. Ave Maria put the game away in the final two and a half minutes, going on a 12-5 run to close the game. The run stretched a three-point lead with 2:22 to play into the ten-point final margin, and included a 6-0 stretch where two Mallory Burton layups and an Amanda Kasprzak jumper put it away.

Powered by her three three-pointers, Gillingham led the Gyrenes with 21 points and nine rebounds. Sarah Miller again added a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Burton chipped in 13 points. For Thomas, seven players scored five points or more, led by ten points each from Samantha Gilbert and Arianna Anderson.

Next for the Gyrenes is a crucial conference matchup with Coastal Georgia in Brunswick on Saturday. The Gyrenes can move into third place in the conference with a victory, while the Mariners can clinch third with a win. Tipoff at Coastal Georgia is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.