AVE MARIA, Fla. --- The Ave Maria women's basketball team dropped just their third conference game of the season on Saturday, a 72-63 decision against St. Thomas. St. Thomas won the second quarter 25-14 which proved to be the difference.
 
Danielle Weinmann led AMU with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Sarah Miller had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. She also had three steals. As a team, Ave Maria shot 41.8 percent for the game and 4-of-11 from three.
 
St. Thomas was led by Samara Auguste who had 16 points. She was one of five Bobcats in double-figures. STU shot 49.1 percent from the field and 6-of-12 from behind the arc.
 
Trailing 4-2 early, Miller scored five straight to give the Gyrenes an early 7-4 edge. AMU led by as many five in the first quarter before St. Thomas cut it to two just before the end of the quarter. The Bobcats used a 5-0 run and a 4-0 run early in the second quarter to take a 24-19 lead. With the Gyrenes trailing by one, St. Thomas went on a 7-0 spurt to take a 32-25 advantage. STU led by as many as 11 in the second quarter and led by nine, 38-29, at the break.
 
Over the first six minutes of the third quarter, St. Thomas was able to extend their lead to 17. The Gyrenes fought back and got the deficit back to nine at the end of the quarter. The Gyrenes cut the St. Thomas lead to seven a couple times early in the fourth but weren't able to get any closer.
 
AMU committed six more turnovers than St. Thomas which allowed the Bobcats to hold a 20-16 edge in points off turnovers. St. Thomas also held an edge in bench points, 23-9, and points in the paint, 40-30.
 
Ave Maria returns to action on Thursday when they head to Babson Park, Fla., to take on the Webber Warriors.