AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team ran their winning streak to four, and remained unbeaten at the Tom Golisano Field House, with a 66-53 victory over Southeastern Saturday afternoon in Ave Maria. The Gyrenes held SEU to just 24 second half points, and held the Fire under 20 percent from three-point territory to earn a home victory over the Sun Conference stalwarts for the second season in a row.

Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the opening ten minutes, as both schools made just three field goals in the opening frame. SEU grabbed an early 7-2 lead, which would prove to be the Fire's biggest lead of the afternoon. Ave Maria eventually got the deficit back to one point, making a pair of free throws in the final 80 seconds of the frame to cut the Southeastern lead to 10-9 at the end of the first quarter. 

After a quiet first quarter, both teams picked up the offense in the second, which saw the Gyrenes outscore the Fire by a 20-19 margin. Two Colleen Shanahan layups gave the Gyrenes a 13-10 lead, a lead that would remain until the closing moments of the frame. AMU led by as many as six points in the second, 29-23, but Southeastern ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to send the game to halftime even at 29.

For much of the third quarter, the game was within one possession. Ave Maria held a 42-39 lead with 1:26 remaining, before the Gyrenes put together a major surge in the span of 63 seconds. An Emily Rapacz layup, followed by three-pointers from Gianna Santacroce and Lavariah Armstead, gave Ave Maria their biggest lead of the afternoon to that point at 11. SEU did score on their final possession of the half, but the Gyrenes still had a 50-41 lead headed to the fourth.

Ave Maria's lead never dipped below nine points in the fourth quarter, as the Gyrenes were able to put away the Fire. AMU led by nine points, 57-48, with 6:32 remaining, but essentially iced the game with a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 15 points. The lead would remain at double digits for the remainder of the contest.

Maria Kuhlman continued to pace the Gyrenes offensively, scoring 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Lavariah Armstead was also in double figures with 12 points, while Casey Humphrey and Colleen Shanahan both had nine points. Shanahan narrowly missed out on a double-double, finishing with ten rebounds to go with her nine points. Elsewhere, freshman Katie Ambrose stuffed the stat sheet, dishing out six assists and pulling down five rebounds.

Ave Maria's win in the conference opener starts the Gyrenes as one of four 1-0 teams in league play. Both of AMU's games in SUN play next week will be on the road, starting with a Wednesday trip to Warner University. The week concludes Saturday afternoon, when the Gyrenes head across Alligator Alley for a meeting with Keiser University.