MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team held the lead with under nine minutes to play on Saturday, but a surge from the St. Thomas University Bobcats proved to be the difference as the Bobcats claimed an 80-70 win over the Gyrenes in Miami Gardens. STU's win marked a split in the season series, with both teams winning on their home floors.

The first quarter saw the teams getting points on the board in different ways. St. Thomas made six field goals to the Gyrenes' two in the opening ten minutes, but AMU made up most of the difference by making six free throws. Ave Maria held a three-point lead late in the quarter, but St. Thomas scored the final five points of the frame to take a 15-13 lead at the end of the first. 

St. Thomas tried to build their lead in the second quarter, inching out to a seven-point advantage on two occasions. This time, it was the Gyrenes that closed the quarter strong. Trailing 26-19 with three minutes to play before halftime, the Gyrenes outscored the Bobcats 9-5, with a Gianna Santacroce three-pointer in the final 20 seconds cutting the St. Thomas lead to three points entering the halftime break. 

Both teams came alive offensively in the third quarter, with the Gyrenes scoring more points in the third (29) than in the first two quarters combined. A balanced effort led the Gyrenes in the third, as both Elena Barnes and Grace Field made all three of their field goal attempts and four Gyrenes scored at least four points. The Gyrenes erased a ten-point STU lead in the third, then erased another eight-point lead with an 11-0 run to close the frame, giving AMU a 57-54 lead with ten minutes to play.

Ave Maria held a 59-57 lead with under nine minutes to play, but the fourth quarter would belong to St. Thomas. The Bobcats outscored the Gyrenes 26-13 in the final ten minutes, as Ave Maria went ice cold offensively. Ave Maria turned the ball over seven times in the final frame, and made just three of their 15 field goal attempts.

Gianna Santacroce led AMU scoring with 14 points off the bench, and Casey Humphrey added 13 points. Grace Field recorded her 17th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and 12 rebounds. If Field can record three double-doubles in the remaining games (which would include potential postseason contests), she would become just the second player in AMU history to log 20 double-doubles in a season - Sarah Miller had 22 double-doubles each in her junior and senior seasons. 

Despite the loss, the Gyrenes still remain in fourth place in The Sun Conference, although just one game currently seperates the fourth place team - who would play at home in the conference tournament quarterfinals - from the seventh place team, would would miss the tournament entirely. One win next week would secure AMU's spot in the postseason, while two wins would likely ensure a home game. The first of those games comes Thursday, when the Gyrenes host Warner University at 5:30 p.m. at Donahue Gym.