AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team continued their winning ways on Monday afternoon, rolling to an 82-37 victory over the Suns of Johnson University at Donahue Gym in Ave Maria. The win was AMU's second over the Suns in less than a week, as the Gyrenes stomped past Johnson 92-41 last Tuesday in Kissimmee. The victory moved Ave Maria's winning streak to six games, a streak that dates back to a win over Thomas on November 18.

Johnson hung with the Gyrenes for a quarter, as AMU's lead at the end of the first quarter was just 21-14. The Suns held a pair of leads at 4-2 and 6-4 before a 14-4 run pushed the Gyrene advantage to eight points. AMU would lead by as many as nine points in the opening frame after a three-pointer from Gianna Santacroce with 1:28 to go, before a layup from Jameice Jones made it 21-14 at the end of frame.

In each of the final three quarters, Ave Maria would outscore the Suns by at least a dozen points, continually widening the lead throughout the contest. The second quarter saw the Gyrenes go on a 17-0 run, turning a 23-18 game into a 40-18 romp. Johnson did hit a three-pointer with under 90 seconds to play to end the Ave Maria streak, but AMU still held a 19-point lead at 40-21 lead entering the halftime break. 

That trend would continue in the second half, which saw the Gyrenes outscore the Suns 20-8 in the third quarter and 22-8 in the fourth. In the third quarter, Ave Maria held the Suns to just two made field goals and forced seven turnovers, while Johnson turned the ball over eight times and made just three shots in the final ten minutes.

As a team, the Gyrenes were dominant on the glass on Monday, pulling down 28 offensive rebounds, which turned into 22 second chance points. Ave Maria also played an excellent game defensively, forcing 26 turnovers and logging 17 steals. On those 26 turnovers, the Gyrenes logged 33 points. Johnson shot just 29.4 percent from the field, and made just three of their 19 three-point attempts.

Lavariah Armstead was Ave Maria's leading scorer in the win, scoring 19 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Cathreveny Cherestal added 15 points with eight rebounds of her own, while Colleen Shanahan recorded a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds. Six Gyrenes logged five or more rebounds on Monday afternoon, with Gianna Santacroce, Emily Rapacz, and Nuria Castillo joining the top three scorers.

Ave Maria's women will have the distinction of playing AMU's final athletic event of the 2021 calendar year, as the Gyrenes host the Tigers of Edward Waters University on New Year's Eve. The final game of 2021 will tip off at Donahue Academy at 4 p.m. on December 31.