WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team earned their first postseason victory in almost seven years on Tuesday night, as the fifth-seeded Gyrenes knocked out the fourth-seeded Keiser University Seahawks, 48-44, in West Palm Beach in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Sun Conference Tournament. The Gyrenes advanced to The Sun Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2015 in the team's seventh consecutive game decided by seven or fewer points, as well as the team's fourth consecutive win.
Keiser dominated the first quarter, outscoring the Gyrenes by a 17-4 margin. The teams combined for just eleven points in the first seven minutes of the game, with the Seahawks holding a 7-4 lead. Keiser then scored the final ten points of the opening frame, powered by three-pointers from Chiara de Virgilio and Kaitlyn Fertig, to open up what would be their biggest lead of the day, 17-4.
Ave Maria turned the tables in the second quarter, giving up just three points to the Seahawks to race back and tie the score. Keiser did not make a field goal for more than seven minutes, and made just one in the second quarter. Ave Maria finally closed the gap with 1:04 to play in the quarter, when Casey Humphrey tied the score at 20 with a layup, which would prove to be the final bucket of the first half.
The third quarter was a tale of two runs. Keiser outscored the Gyrenes 8-0 in the first four minutes of the second half, building their lead back to 28-20. After a de Virgilio layup with 6:22 to play in the quarter put Keiser up eight, the Seahawks would not score again for more than ten minutes. The Gyrenes scored the last eight points of the quarter, taking a 28-28 score into the fourth.
AMU continued their momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring six straight points to take a 34-28 lead. Ave Maria would lead for the remainder of the game, despite Keiser getting as close as one point. Ave Maria led 47-44 after two Lavariah Armstead free throws, and Keiser's final two possessions would end in missed jumpers, allowing the Gyrenes to seal the win.
Casey Humphrey led the Gyrenes with 16 points, while Gianna Santacroce was also in double figures with ten. Lavariah Armstead added eight points and a game-high five steals, and Colleen Shanahan scored eight points and pulled down 17 rebounds. Shanahan also blocked two shots in the win, giving her the Ave Maria single-season record with 46, breaking Sandy Jenkins' record that had stood for ten years.
For the first time since the 2015 season, the Gyrenes will head to the final site of The Sun Conference Tournament, and will take on the host Southeastern University Fire Friday at 5:00 p.m in Lakeland. The Fire, the number one team in the nation in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll, narrowly escaped the Gyrenes in their last meeting, winning 55-51 at Donahue Gym on January 20.
