AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team sealed a spot in the postseason for the sixth season in a row, thanks to a 55-52 win Saturday afternoon at Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes rallied from a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to ensure the team will play in The Sun Conference Tournament, as the program has done every year since 2016-2017.
The Gyrene defense took center stage in the first quarter, as Ave Maria held the Bobcats to 15.4 percent shooting in the first quarter, including 1-of-8 from long distance. The Bobcats took a 7-4 lead with 5:05 remaining in the quarter on a Kasey Gagan three, and did not score again for the remainder of the quarter. Led by five points from Isabella Starzyk, the Gyrenes ended the first on an 8-0 run, giving the hosts a 12-7 lead.
St. Thomas flipped the script in the second quarter, outscoring the Gyrenes 16-7 to take a lead into halftime. It was the Gyrenes' turn to go cold, missing ten of 12 shots and turning the ball over six times. Leading 16-11 with 5:22 left in the half, Ave Maria made just one field goal for the remainder of the half, a Nuria Castillo three. The Bobcats finished the half on a 12-3 run, opening up a 23-19 lead at the break.
Ave Maria was able to battle back and take the lead in the third quarter, but a late surge put the Bobcats back on top. The score was tied six times during the third, with neither team leading by more than two points after a layup from Gianna Santacroce opened the scoring. With the score tied at 34, St. Thomas closed on a 7-2 run, including two free throws with just over a second on the clock from Brooke Bogatz, giving STu a 41-36 edge heading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats looked to be pulling away, starting the quarter on a 8-0 run to take a 49-36 lead. From that point, the Gyrenes started chipping into the STU lead. Four layups and six free throws in the span of five minutes brought the Gyrenes all the way back, as a putback from Colleen Shanahan with 1:45 to go gave the lead to AMU, 50-49. A layup from Lavariah Armstead and two free throws from Emily Rapacz put the cap on an 18-0 run. Kasey Gagan made a three-pointer with three seconds left, but one more free throw from Rapacz was enough to ice the stunning win.
Rapacz was Ave Maria's leading scorer, logging 16 points on just five field goal attempts, thanks to a 10-for-12 mark from the free throw line. Shanahan completed a Conference Player of the Week caliber week with eight points and 19 rebounds, giving the forward more than 40 points and more than 50 rebounds on the week. Casey Humphrey was also in double figures for AMU, scoring 12 points.
With the conference tournament bid now sealed, the Gyrenes turn their attention to a potential home game, which is still on the table if AMU can win both of their games next week. The first of those contests comes Thursday on the road, when the Gyrenes take on Warner University in Lake Wales. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. for AMU's last road game of the regular season.
