BABSON PARK, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team fell victim to a third quarter surge from the Webber International University Warriors Saturday afternoon, and fell 90-72 to the host Warriors at the Sabbagh Athletic Center in Babson Park. Trailing by three at halftime, the Gyrenes were outscored 27-13 in the third quarter, and could not mount a rally in the Sun Conference matchup.

Ave Maria found themselves in an early hole in the first quarter, as Webber built an 11-4 lead in the first six minutes. The Gyrenes responded with six unanswered points on layups from Colleen Shanahan and Casey Humphrey, as well as a pair of free throws from Emily Rapacz. The Warriors would eventually take a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a buzzer beating layup by Amaya Lasley.

The second quarter followed a similar blueprint to the first - Webber built another lead, but the Gyrenes were able to cut it down by the end of the frame. The Warriors held a pair of eight point leads of 22-14 and 30-22, the latter coming with 4:07 on the clock. Ave Maria cut the lead down to three over the next two minutes on three free throws and a Humphrey layup, and trailed 38-35 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Webber pulled away from the Gyrenes, taking a 65-48 lead by the end of the frame. The Warriors shot 57.1 percent from the field in the third, led by a 12-point effort from LeAndra Franklin. The main run came in the final 4:52, when the Warriors outscored the Gyrenes 16-5 to take a 20-point lead, before a three-pointer from Nuria Castillo cut the lead back to 17.

Both teams were rolling offensively in the fourth quarter, as the teams combined to score 49 points. After an AMU layup from Catie Reszel trimmed the lead to 15, the Warriors went on a 11-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 26 points. AMU cut the Webber lead down to 18 by the end of the game thanks to a 7-0 run that closed the scoring. 

Casey Humphrey did everything she could to keep the Gyrenes in the game, scoring 25 points. Lavariah Armstead and Colleen Shanahan were also in double figures, as both freshmen chipped in with 12 points. Emily Rapacz narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Isabella Starzyk scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds in her Ave Maria debut. 

The Gyrenes will have another busy week next week, with three games in the span of five days. The first of those games comes Tuesday night at Donahue Gym, when Ave Maria welcomes the Lions of Florida Memorial University. Tipoff in Ave Maria is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and will mark the first of four consecutive home games for the Gyrenes.