AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team got the 2023-24 season underway with a victory, emerging with an 82-54 triumph over the University of Fort Lauderdale at Donahue Gym Saturday afternoon. Head coach Alexander Moorehead got a look at most of his roster Saturday afternoon, as 14 players saw time on the floor, and none played more than 25 minutes.
The Gyrenes were locked in offensively early on, making ten of their 16 field goal attempts in the first quarter. Fort Lauderdale, for their part, was able to keep pace with their long-range shooting, making three three-pointers to just one for the Gyrenes. Seven different AMU players scored in the opening ten minutes, but AMU held just a 21-19 lead at the end of the first frame.
AMU's defense was able to clamp down a bit in the second quarter, holding Fort Lauderdale to just 5-of-18 shooting. The main defensive effort came in the final four minutes of the half, when the Gyrenes limited the Eagles to just one made field goal. Ave Maria scored ten points to just three for Fort Lauderdale in that period, with a Gianna Santacroce three-pointer opening up a 42-32 lead for AMU at halftime.
More defensive pressure was put on by the Gyrenes in the third quarter, as Fort Lauderdale's output again dipped, this time to just eleven points. AMU wasn't able to widen the lead by much, turning the ball over nine times. Ave Maria pushed their lead to 20 at times in the third, but led just 57-43 at the end of the frame.
However, Ave Maria had no interest in letting the Eagles hang around any further. AMU buried Fort Lauderdale in the fourth quarter, scoring a game-high 25 points and once again allowing just eleven. Ave Maria made eight of the eleven field goals they attempted in the final ten minutes, and outrebounded the Eagles by a 16-6 margin.
Gianna Santacroce and Ella Thompson led the way for the Gyrenes, both scoring 15 points. Santacroce did her scoring from long range, making five of eight three-point attempts. Thompson, on the other hand, was perfect from short range, making all six of her two-point attempts. Isabella Starzyk also made the most of her time on the floor, pulling down ten rebounds in just 12 minutes of work to pace the Gyrenes on the glass.
Ave Maria's next eight games, including a pair of exhibition contests, will be away from home. That run starts Thursday, when the Gyrenes play their first of two games at the SUN/Southern States Challenge. AMU will battle William Carey University, a top program out of the SSAC, at noon on Thursday. The women's version of the SUN/SSAC Challenge is being held at Polk State College, the temporary home of the Webber International University Warriors, the host of the event.
