WINTER HAVEN, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team erased an early 12-point deficit, but ran out of gas late in a 75-66 victory at the hands of William Carey University in the Sun Conference/Southern States Challenge in Winter Haven Thursday afternoon. The Gyrenes led in the third quarter, but fell victim to a major run from the Crusaders to fall to 1-1 on the season.
For much of the first quarter, the Gyrenes were their own worst enemy, allowing William Carey to build a 17-11 lead. Ave Maria turned the ball over five times, and allowed the Crusaders to score on two of their three offensive rebounds. The Crusaders' edge in turnover differential and on the offensive glass allowed WCU to take nine more shots than the Gyrenes, and eight points from Kolten Blakeney put the Crusaders up seven after ten minutes of play.
William Carey widened the lead in the second quarter, pushing their edge over the Gyrenes to as many as 12 points. Ave Maria finally found their footing in the second part of the second quarter, cutting the lead down to five points by the end of the half. AMU got the lead down to five, 35-30, thanks to an and-one from Ella Thompson with three seconds remaining in the first half.
After gaining some momentum late in the first round, the Gyrenes roared out of the gate in the second, taking the lead on a Thompson three-pointer with 7:14 remaining. Neither team led by more than one possession for the remainder of the quarter, but it was William Carey that took the lead heading into the fourth quarter, 51-49, thanks to a jumper with under a minute to play from Mckalea Randall.
In the final ten minutes of the game, the Gyrenes ran out of gas against the Crusaders. William Carey started the fourth quarter on a 13-3 run, extending their two-point lead to 12 points. William Carey would lead by as many as 16 points with less than a minute to go before AMU scored the final seven points of the afternoon. William Carey's win was powered by their second half performance, which saw the Crusaders make 16 of their 24 field goal attempts.
In her first game of the season, Casey Humphrey led the Gyrenes with 20 points, as the Ohio native made three of her four three-point attempts. Ella Thompson added 15 points, while Maria Kuhlman chipped in with eight. Both Thompson and Kuhlman made two three-pointers, part of a 10-for-20 effort on the day for the the Gyrenes.
The SUN/SSAC Challenge continues Friday on the Polk State College campus, when the Gyrenes battle the Knights of Middle Georgia. It marks the second consecutive season where the two teams have met, with Ave Maria emerging with an 81-67 victory in last season's edition of the SUN/SSAC Challenge, which was held in Montgomery, Alabama. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Winter Haven.
