AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team came up short on Thursday night, falling in a Sun Conference matchup to the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. The Gyrenes dropped a 58-51 decision to the Mariners, who moved to 8-2 in conference play. Ave Maria sits at 6-4 with eight games to play in the regular season.

The first quarter was a low-scoring affair, as the Gyrenes and Mariners were tied at seven after ten minutes of play. Neither team made a field goal in the final five minutes of the quarter, and Coastal Georgia was held without a field goal for a period of 6:38. Ave Maria had numerous chances to extend a lead in the frame, but only connected on three of their 19 field goal attempts, all layups from Syanne Rowe, Danielle Weinmann, and Sarah Miller.

Coastal Georgia used a big closing run in the second quarter to take an eight point lead into the halftime break. Ave Maria held a 20-19 lead after three consecutive three-pointers, with two coming from Georgia Slay. In the final five minutes of the half, the Mariners went on a 11-2 run, which included nine consecutive points after the Gyrenes gained the lead. Coastal Georgia, who outscored AMU 23-15 in the second quarter, held a 30-22 lead after 20 minutes.

To start the second half, the Gyrenes were able to cut the Coastal Georgia lead to two with 6:09 on the clock. Coastal Georgia again ended the quarter on a run, scoring the final six points to turn a 37-34 lead into a 43-34 edge heading into the fourth quarter. After cutting the Coastal lead to three on a Megan Allen jumper with 4:35 left, the Gyrenes were unable to score, turning the ball over three times and missing one field goal and two free throws.

Ave Maria outscored the Mariners in the fourth quarter, but could never cut the Coastal Georgia lead to less than seven points. The Gyrenes cut the lead to seven points on four different occasions, including with less than five seconds to play. In each of the first three occasions, the Mariners would respond to increase the advantage to nine or ten. 

Sarah Miller logged her 16th double-double of the season, a total that ranks second in the nation. The senior scored 15 points and pulled down eleven rebounds. Syanne Rowe and Amanda Kasprzak were also in double figures with eleven points each. The game's top two scorers came from Coastal Georgia, with Lynsey Washington scoring 16 points and Kaliyah Little adding 15 points off the bench.

The Gyrenes return to the court on Saturday afternoon for a meeting with the Thomas University Night Hawks. Ave Maria won the first meeting between the two teams, 49-43, in Thomasville back on November 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. as the opener of a men's and women's doubleheader.