GUTHRIE, Okla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team could not earn their first win of their western road trip on Thursday, falling 81-72 to the Lions of Langston University in Guthrie, Oklahoma. For the second day in a row, the Gyrenes played well in the first half before falling victim to a second half surge on the road.
Langston claimed the early lead in the first quarter, leading by six at several occasions before ending the frame with a 23-17 lead. The Gyrenes hung around for the majority of the frame, and trailed by just two points with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter before a score, a turnover, and another score extended the Lions' lead to six points.
The Gyrenes closed the gap on Langston in the second quarter, outscoring the Lions 22-19 in the ten minutes before halftime. Two Gianna Santacroce free throws with 4:31 to play cut the Langston lead to one point, as did Casey Humphrey makes at the 2:39 and 2:08 marks. However, AMU could not take the lead, although the Gyrenes did nearly tie the game at halftime when a Maria Kuhlman three-pointer just missed the mark.
As was the case on Wednesday, Ave Maria's worst quarter was the third. Langston pushed their lead out to 14 points within five minutes, capped by a three-pointer from Kameron Shelley. The lead would grow to 15 points before the end of the quarter, before an Ava Murphy three-pointer late in the frame trimmed the lead back to 12.
Any chances of an Ave Maria rally were dashed in the early moments of the fourth quarter, as the Lions scored the first eight points of the frame to widen their lead to 20 points. The Gyrenes did close the game with some momentum, scoring 20 of the game's final 29 points to get as close as seven points and eventually trim the final deficit to single digits.
Almost half of Ave Maria's 72 points came from two players, as Casey Humphrey and Ava Murphy combined for 34 points. Humphrey scored 18 points, while Murphy scored an efficient 16 points on just nine shots. Emily Rapacz and Casey Humphrey both neared the double figure mark, scoring eight points a piece in the losing effort.
Ave Maria's trip west concludes on Friday, when the Gyrenes meet up with the Crusaders of Dallas Christian College for their third game in as many days. AMU will look for their third win of the season in the Lone Star State against the NCCCA member. Tipoff from the DFW metroplex is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. local time, 2:00 p.m. eastern.
