MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball nearly pulled off a frantic comeback on Tuesday night, but saw their season come to an end with a 65-59 loss to the Bobcats of St. Thomas University in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 Sun Conference Tournament. The Gyrenes trailed by 18 heading into the fourth quarter before almost coming all the way back for a monumental upset.
It was a picture perfect start for the Gyrenes on Tuesday night, as AMU grabbed a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. After an and-one from from Patricia Martinez-Sanz started the scoring for STU, the Gyrenes proceeded to end the first quarter on a 13-4 run. Taylor Allen was the lynchpin of the Gyrene surge, scoring seven of AMU's points in the opening ten minutes.
St. Thomas responded by controlling much of the second quarter, giving the Bobcats the lead at halftime. STU scored the first seven points of the quarter, taking a 14-13 lead just over two minutes into the frame. The lead traded hands four times in the final eight minutes of the half, with the Bobcats scoring the final five points of the half to turn a 22-19 deficit into a 24-22 lead entering the break.
The Bobcats seemingly put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Gyrenes 27-11 coming out of halftime. St. Thomas led by as many as 21 points in the third, partially thanks to a 17-2 run that saw STU's lead balloon from six to 21. AMU was able to cut into the lead slightly before the end of the frame, bit still trailed by 18, 51-33, heading into the fourth quarter.
Ave Maria nearly came all the way back in the fourth quarter, shooting 53.9 percent from the field in the last ten minutes of their season. The Gyrenes got the St. Thomas lead down to four following two Sophia Kramer free throws with 45 seconds left. The Bobcats made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to increase the lead to six, and a three-point attempt that would have cut the lead to three missed the mark, sealing St. Thomas' date in the conference semifinals.
In her final collegiate game, Taylor Allen led the Gyrenes with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Three other Gyrenes were in double figures, with both Syanne Rowe and Hunter Chambers scoring a dozen points. The quartet was rounded out by Monica Behrend, who had ten points. Gianni Domond was the game's high scorer, putting 17 points and eight rebounds on the board.
Ave Maria's season comes to an end with an appearance in The Sun Conference Tournament for the fourth year in a row. The Gyrenes ended their season on a high note, taking the number two team in the conference to the limit just over 72 hours after earning a victory over the fourth-seeded team in the league, the Keiser University Seahawks.
