MOBILE, Ala.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team could not dig themselves out of an early hole, and suffered their first loss of the 2021-22 season, 67-54, on the road to the Rams of the University of Mobile on Tuesday night. The Gyrenes outscored Mobile in the second half, but were not able to overcome a 23-11 margin in the first quarter.
In the first six minutes of the game, the Gyrenes found themselves in an 11-0 hole. Ave Maria's first points of the game did not come until the 3:52 mark of the opening frame, when Nuria Castillo knocked down a jumper. Mobile would build their lead as large as 13 points (19-6), and a layup from Mary Denman Luker gave the Rams a 23-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mobile again went on a run to start the second quarter, scoring the first nine points to build up their lead to 21 points, 32-11. That lead would prove to be the biggest of the half for the Rams, but Ave Maria would hang around with a run of their own. The Gyrenes scored the last six points of the half, with three points each from Lavariah Armstead and Casey Humphrey helping AMU cut the deficit to 15, 37-22, at halftime.
Neither team did much offensively in the third quarter, with both teams scoring just eight points. The Ave Maria defense held Mobile to 15.8 percent from the field, but could only manage four field goals of their own. AMU got within eleven during the frame, but the Rams scored the final four points, capped by a three-pointer from Carlee Wyatt, to push the lead back to 15.
Ave Maria outscored Mobile 24-22 in the fourth quarter, but could never get closer than eleven points, which the Gyrenes did on three occasions. Eleven missed free throws from the Rams helped the Gyrenes hang around down the stretch, but AMU could not string together enough makes to get within single digits.
For the second game in a row, the Gyrenes relied on Humphrey and Armstead for much of the scoring. Humphrey led the Gyrenes with 16 points, while Armstead shot 60 percent from the field en route to 15 points. The rebounding efforts were powered by Colleen Shanahan (9) and Cathreveny Cherestal (8), who combined for 17 of the team's 35 rebounds on the night.
Tuesday night's game was the first in a five game roadtrip for the Gyrenes, with the next game coming Friday night in Hialeah against Florida National Conquistadors. AMU defeated FNU last week in Ave Maria, and will look for the season sweep on Friday night. Tipoff in Hialeah is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
