JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team earned their first road victory of the 2021-22 season on Tuesday night, rolling past the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College, 94-60, in Jacksonville. The Gyrenes outscored the Eagles in all four quarters on Tuesday, and held Trinity Baptist under 30 percent shooting in the blowout win.
Trinity Baptist scored the first points of the game, but a three-pointer from Gianna Santacroce less than a minute into the game, putting Ave Maria up 3-2, would give the Gyrenes a lead they would not relinquish for the remaining 39 minutes. The Gyrenes led by as many as nine points in the opening frame, leading 15-6, 17-8, and 25-16. Ave Maria held a 27-20 lead at the end of the quarter, powered by Santacroce knocking down her only two three-point attempts.
The Gyrenes finished the second quarter on a major run, extending their lead to 12 points at the halftime break. Trinity Baptist had cut the AMU lead down to four, 35-31, with 4:42 to play in the half. The Gyrenes responded by ending the first half on a 10-2 run, pushing the lead to 45-33. Five different AMU players scored during the half-ending run.
Ave Maria took full control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring Trinity Baptist 30-11 to build the lead to 31 points. The quarter featured a 22-3 run from the Gyrenes, which extended a 12-point lead into 31 points. AMU was completely dominant on the boards in the third quarter, pulling down offensive rebounds on seven of ten missed shots. Cathreveny Cherestal was the main force on the glass with five offensive rebounds.
AMU kept the momentum into the fourth quarter, building their lead to 42 points with less than four minutes to go. Although TBC scored the final eight points of the game to cut the final deficit to 34, it still marked a decisive victory for the Gyrenes, moving AMU to 2-1 on the young season.
Five Gyrenes were in double figures, led by 17 points from Cherestal. Colleen Shanahan had the season's first double-double with 16 points and eleven rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass. Santacroce and Lavariah Armstead both added 12 points, while Emily Rapacz rounded out the group with eleven. As a team, the Gyrenes pulled down 24 offensive rebounds, which turned into 21 second chance points for Ave Maria.
The next two games on the schedule for Ave Maria will come in Michigan, as the Gyrenes play in the 2021 Blue Devil Classic, hosted by Lawrence Tech. AMU's first game in the Classic will come against the host school, as Ave Maria's first game will take on the Blue Devils of Lawrence Tech. That game is scheduled to tipoff at 1:00 p.m.
