AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team finished off a sweep of the Gyrene Christmas Classic on Saturday, using a dominant second half to earn a 73-40 victory over the Pomeroys of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College at the Tom Golisano Field House. Ave Maria outscored the Pomeroys 40-16 in the second half, and finished 3-0 at their inaugural holiday event.
For the second day in a row, the Gyrenes started well. SMWC's only lead of the quarter (and the game) was at 2-0, and disappeared 33 seconds later on a Casey Humphrey and-one. AMU used a 9-0 run during the quarter to stretch their lead to eleven points, 20-9, before settling into a 23-14 lead at the end of the first. Colleen Shanahan was a force on the glass during the opening ten minutes, pulling down seven rebounds.
The second quarter was evenly matched, with Ave Maria and Saint Mary both scoring ten points in the frame. The AMU lead remained within six and eleven points for the entire frame, with an Irye Gomez layup with 48 seconds remaining dropping Ave Maria's lead from eleven points to nine, 33-24, at the end of the quarter. Both teams shot under 20 percent from the field in the frame, with Ave Maria at 17.6 percent and SMWC at 13.3 percent.
Ave Maria took full control of the contest in the third, outscoring the Pomeroys 27-13 to extend their lead to 60-37. AMU knocked down five three-pointers and shot 58.8 percent from the field coming out of the break, led by eight points from Casey Humphrey. The major run of the quarter came once SMWC cut the lead to 36-27, and saw the Gyrenes score 16 of the next 18 points to push the lead out to 23 - it would eventually push out to 25.
AMU's third quarter run rendered the fourth quarter moot, as Ave Maria had the game fully put away. AMU's defensive efforts did continue, as the Pomeroys missed 16 of their 17 field goals in the final frame. Ave Maria outscored the visitors 13-3 in the final ten minutes of the contest, pushing the lead to more than 30 points before the final whistle.
Casey Humphrey was AMU's top player in the final win of the week, as the junior scored a game-high 19 points. Lavariah Armstead was the only other Gyrene in double figures with ten points. For the third day in a row, Colleen Shanahan led Ave Maria on the glass with seven rebounds, while three different Gyrenes - Armstead, Humphrey, and Katie Ambrose - all dished out three assists.
The Gyrenes finish non-conference play with a 9-5 record. Sun Conference play is scheduled to begin January 6, when the Fire of Southeastern University come to town. Tipoff for the first women's and men's doubleheader in the new Tom Golisano Field House is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
