AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team had little trouble earning their eighth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 69-42 victory over the visiting Johnson University Suns at Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes, who never trailed in the win after jumping out to a 10-0 lead in the first four minute, tied a school record for the fastest to ten wins, getting to double digits in just eleven games to start the season.
All five of Ave Maria starters were making their first appearance of the season in the starting five, with four freshmen - Mckenzi Lyons, Raegan Cooper, Cortney Smith, and Amelia Benjamin - making their first career starts. The Gyrenes led for all but 45 seconds of Saturday's game, as AMU took the lead for good on a Lyons jumper, assisted by Cooper, on the second possession of the game.
Ave Maria outscored the Suns in the first three quarters, with the Suns outscoring AMU in the fourth quarter long after the game was decided. The Gyrenes were especially dominant in the first and third quarters, outscoring Johnson by 14 points in both frames. AMU used most of their roster in the victory, with the team's usual starters all playing ten minutes or fewer in the victory.
The Gyrenes dominated in nearly all aspects of the game on Saturday, leading to their eighth consecutive victory over the Suns. Ave Maria pulled down 55 rebounds, including 18 on the offensive glass, while Johnson managed just 34. Offensively, the Gyrenes shot 39.1 percent from the field, and held the Suns to a mark of just 25.9 percent, which dipped under 20 percent late in the third quarter.
Catie Reszel was the lone Gyrene to enter double figures, as eleven of the 13 Gyrenes to see the floor scored at least two points. The junior scored ten points for AMU, and was second on the roster with six rebounds. Freshman Mckenzi Lyons narrowly missed out on a double-double, leading the Gyrenes with ten rebounds while adding nine points. Lyons also blocked four Johnson shots, the second highest total for an AMU player this season.
AMU's challenge will increase greatly on Monday, as the seventh-ranked team in the nation comes to Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes host the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan University, with tipoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Indiana Wesleyan will be playing the first of two games in the state of Florida, and come to the Sunshine State with a record of 9-3.
