KISSIMMEE, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team stormed back from an early deficit, and routed the Johnson University Suns, 85-54, at the Chapman Center on Friday night. The Gyrenes earned their second win of the season over the Suns, having earned a 69-59 victory in Ave Maria back on October 30. The win was AMU's second win in their last three contests.

Johnson got off to a great start, building a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. From that point on, though, it was all Gyrenes. AMU scored the final 19 points of the first quarter, forcing Johnson into eight missed shots and seven turnovers. The spark plug for Ave Maria was freshman Catie Reszel, who came off the bench to knock down three three-pointers in the span of 46 seconds.

Ave Maria continued to dominate in the second quarter, outscoring the Suns 19-8 to take a 40-18 lead into the halftime break. The run from the first quarter extended to the first three and a half minutes of the second quarter, as a 12-1 start concluded a run that concluded at 31-1 over the span of ten-plus minutes.

The Gyrenes had their best offensive quarter in the third, putting 23 points on the board to extend the lead to 63-33. The Ave Maria lead grew as large as 32 points, and never dipped below the halftime lead of 22. 15 of AMU's 23 points in the third came on three-pointers, led by a trio of threes from senior Hunter Chambers. 

With the victory essentially sealed, the Gyrenes emptied the bench in the fourth quarter, outscoring Johnson 22-21 in the final ten minutes. Ave Maria got to the free throw line 13 times in the final quarter, making eleven. Both Taylor Lopez and Issabelle Rennaker scored five points in the fourth.

AMU was completely dominant on the glass in the victory, pulling down 51 rebounds to just 22 for the Suns. The Gyrenes rebounded 25 of their 46 missed shots, led by seven offensive rebounds from Syanne Rowe. Ave Maria knocked down 12 three-pointers on Friday night, with three players - Taylor Allen, Reszel, and Chambers - making at least three.

Four Gyrenes were in double figures in the victory, led by 15 points each from seniors Taylor Allen and Hunter Chambers. Syanne Rowe added a double-double with 14 points and eleven rebounds, while Reszel added 13 points and five assists. Cathreveny Cherestal narrowly missed out on a double-double with eight points and ten rebounds. Johnson's leading scorers were Trinity Thomas and Ruby Nieves, who both had eleven points.

Next on the schedule for the Gyrenes is a home contest against the Tigers of Edward Waters College. Edward Waters comes to Ave Maria on Tuesday as part of a doubleheader with the AMU's men's program, who will be facing Pensacola Christian. Tipoff at the Donahue Academy gymnasium is scheduled for 5:30 p.m, with the men's game following 30 minutes after the conclusion of AMU and EWC.