AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team dealt the Lions of Florida Memorial University their first conference loss of the season on Thursday night, toppling FMU 78-66 at the Tom Golisano Field House. Ave Maria held the explosive Florida Memorial offense to just 33.8 percent shooting from the field and 24.1 percent shooting from three-point distance.

The Gyrenes jumped out to a lead in the first quarter, holding the potent Florida Memorial offense to 4-of-15 shooting and forcing the Lions to miss all six of their three-point attempts. Ave Maria outscored the Lions 16-4 over the final 7:34 of the quarter, turning an early 6-2 deficit into a 18-10 lead after ten minutes of play. Offensively, Katie Houbolt sparked the AMU offense with eight points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Ave Maria continued the momentum into the second quarter, again outscoring Florida Memorial by eight points to take a 16-point lead into halftime. The Gyrenes' perimeter defense was critical in building the lead, as AMU held the Lions, who lead the nation in three-pointers made per game, to just one make in 15 attempts over the first 20 minutes. Danielle Weinmann took over on the offensive end of the court in the second, scoring 14 points on just four shots - three twos, a three, and seven free throws.

An 8-0 run to start the third quarter pushed the Gyrene lead to 24 points, 52-28. Florida Memorial finally started to heat up from beyond the three-point arc, cutting the Gyrene lead to 15 with the aid of a trio of three-pointers. However, the lead would get no closer than 15 points, as Ave Maria knocked down eight of their nine shots to push the lead back to 21 points, 64-43, with just ten minutes on the clock.

In the fourth quarter, the Lions outscored the Gyrenes 23-14, but Ave Maria was able to put together enough successful possessions to keep from every being truly threatened. FMU leading scorer Brianna Battle scored nine of her eleven points in the fourth quarter.

Weinmann led all scorers with an efficient 22 points, as the junior needed only ten shots to put up a career high. Sarah Miller recorded another double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Amanda Kasprzak and Katie Houbolt were in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Ashleigh Gary was the leading scorer for Florida Memorial, scoring 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting. 

AMU will play another critical Sun Conference game on Saturday afternoon at the Tom Golisano Field House. The Gyrenes, who now sit at 6-2 in conference play, will host the Bobcats of St. Thomas University at 2:00 p.m. The Bobcats sit at 6-2 in the Sun Conference as well following a narrow loss to conference heavyweight Southeastern. The women's game is the opener of a men's and women's doubleheader in Ave Maria.