AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team overcame a sluggish offensive effort Saturday afternoon, finding a way to claim a 63-57 victory over the visiting Mariners of the College of Coastal Georgia at the Tom Golisano Field House. Making just one of their 13 three-point attempts and 18 of 35 free throw attempts, the Gyrenes relied on their post players, as Colleen Shanahan and Bella Starzyk combined for 28 points to lead the way.
Coastal Georgia shot the ball better than the Gyrenes in the first quarter, but the Gyrenes were able to get to the free throw line to keep pace. Half of Ave Maria's points in the opening frame - seven of the 14 - came from the charity stripe. Neither team led by more than four points in the initial frame, with Ave Maria holding a 14-13 lead after a three-pointer in the final minute from Gianna Santacroce.
AMU's defense took center stage in the back half of the second quarter, shutting down the Mariners to give the Gyrenes the lead heading to halftime. Coastal Georgia did not make a field goal in the final 6:57 of the first half, and Ave Maria outscored the Mariners 14-5 over that stretch. The surge included six straight points to end the half, sending the teams to the break with AMU ahead, 29-24.
The Mariners battled back in the third, outscoring AMU 18-13 in the ten minutes following halftime. The lead shifted several times in the third quarter, with the game heading to the fourth tied at 42 after an Emily Rapacz layup tied the game on Ave Maria's final possession of the third.
With the game tied heading into the fourth quarter, the Gyrenes made enough plays to emerge with their fifth Sun Conference win. With the score tied at 53 with two minutes to play, Ave Maria came up with seven unanswered points. Maria Kuhlman made a layup to give AMU the lead, then Shanahan made a lauyp of her own to extend the lead to four. A free throw from Kuhlman and a layup from Ava Murphy in the final minute allowed the Gyrenes to ice it.
The Gyrenes scored 58 of their 63 points either in the paint or at the free throw line, led by the efforts of their post players. Colleen Shanahan scored a game-high 16 points, while senior Bella Starzyk added 12 points of her own. Despite a slower scoring day, graduate student Maria Kuhlman scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter, and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to help Ave Maria overcome the Mariners at home.
Ave Maria will have a full week to prepare for a major Sun Conference battle next Saturday in Lakeland. The 5-2 Gyrenes will head to The Furnace for a meeting with the 6-1 Southeastern Fire, who sit in first place in The Sun Conference. A win over the Fire would give the Gyrenes a share of first place, as well as the all important tiebreaker over the Fire with six games to play. Tipoff from Lakeland is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
