AVE MARIA, Fla. - The Ave Maria University women's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season with a victory on Friday evening, as the Gyrenes claimed a 69-59 victory over the visiting Suns of Johnson University. The victory marked Ave Maria's sixth consecutive Opening Night win, and extended AMU's winning streak over the Suns to four games over the past three seasons.

Ave Maria controlled the game basically from the opening tip, building a lead as large as 13 points in the opening ten minutes. The Gyrenes opened up an 8-2 lead in the first 2:30 of the contest, then went on an 15-4 run to extend an 8-6 lead to 23-10 in the final minute of the quarter. The Suns made a pair of free throws in the final 40 seconds, but AMU took a 23-12 lead into the second quarter.

AMU's lead continued to grow in the second quarter, where the Gyrenes outscored the Suns 21-12. Ave Maria ballooned their lead to as many as 26 points, taking a 42-16 advantage following two free throws from Monica Behrend. Johnson scored eight of the final ten points in the quarter, but the mini-run from the Suns was only able to cut the AMU lead down to 20 points, 44-24 at halftime. 

The Gyrenes' first half was powered by a stifling defensive effort, which saw the Suns shoot just 30 percent from the field. Syanne Rowe led the way for Ave Maria in the first half with eleven points, while Megan Allen was perhaps the most efficient player on the floor with eight points on just three shots. Allen also led AMU with nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

In the third quarter, Ave Maria and Johnson played relatively evenly, with the Gyrenes holding an 18-17 advantage. Neither team put together a major run in the third frame, as the Suns were only able to get within 15 points and the Gyrene lead never grew larger than 23. A jumper from Kamaryn Schaub gave AMU that 23-pont lead at 60-37, but Johnson scored four of the final six points of the quarter to account for AMU's 62-41 lead heading to the fourth.

Johnson outscored the Gyrenes 18-7 in the fourth quarter, but never put a major threat to AMU. Johnson's run included a 9-1 stretch in the final two minutes of the contest, when the game had basically been decided.

Taylor Allen was the leading scorer for the Gyrenes on Opening Night, scoring 17 points. Both Megan Allen and Rowe posted double-doubles in the victory, with Allen scoring 15 points with ten rebounds and Rowe adding 12 points and ten rebounds. Off the bench, Cathreveny Cherestal had nine points on 4-for-6 shooting in her collegiate debut.

Next week will see the Gyrenes head to north Florida and Alabama for a pair of road games. AMU first heads to the Pensacola Christian College on Thursday, then travels to the University of Mobile on Saturday. The first road game of the season, in Pensacola, is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader between the two schools.