BRUNSWICK, Ga.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team ended their trip to Georgia on Saturday afternoon, falling 78-59 to the Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia. The Gyrenes started fast in their second game of the week, but could not sustain the performance in the final 20 minutes on Coastal Georgia's home floor.

Saturday's game could not have started better for the Gyrenes, who raced out to a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Ave Maria concluded the quarter on a 12-1 run, keeping the Mariners from making a field goal in the final four minutes of the frame. The run was kickstarted by Sophia Kramer, who sandwiched two free throws around a three-pointer to boost AMU to a five-point lead at 14-9. 

Ave Maria kept the lead throughout the second quarter, despite the Mariners holding a 22-16 advantage in the frame. AMU's lead was trimmed down to three with 2:44 to play, but two free throws from Syanne Rowe and a three-pointer from Monica Behrend pushed the Gyrene edge back to eight points. The Mariners scored the final three points of the half to account for a 37-32 AMU lead at halftime.

Coastal Georgia took control of the game in the final four minutes of the third quarter. Ave Maria held a 46-43 lead following a Taylor Allen layup with 4:46 remaining in the third. From that point on, Coastal outscored AMU 14-0, led by a three-pointer and an and-one from Talesa Campbell. In that span, the Gyrenes missed all six of their shots and turned the ball over twice, giving the Mariners a 57-46 lead with ten minutes to play. 

In the fourth quarter, the Mariners continued to build their lead, as the Gyrenes could only get within nine in the final ten minutes. Over the final 20 minutes of the game, the Mariners shot 50 percent from the field, while holding the Gyrenes to a 28.1 percent mark. The Mariners outrebounded the Gyrenes 39-30, and pulled down 13 offensive rebounds in the victory. 

Taylor Allen led the Gyrenes with 18 points, connecting on eight of her 15 field goal attempts. The other Gyrene in double figures was Syanne Rowe, who scored ten points. Catie Reszel had seven points in the losing effort, while Monica Behrend posted six points and five rebounds off the bench. The game's leading scorer was Kaliyah Little, who had 21 points. Solrun Gisladottir added 17 points, which included five three-pointers.

AMU's game against the Mariners on Saturday was the Gyrenes' final game outside the state of the Florida for the remainder of the season. Next on the Ave Maria schedule is a road game against the Suns of Johnson University, which is scheduled for Friday evening in Kissimmee. It is the second meeting of the season between the two teams, with Ave Maria winning the opener, 69-59, on October 30. Tipoff in the rematch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.