BABSON PARK, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball team erased a double digit deficit Saturday afternoon to get back into the game against the Webber Warriors. Unfortunately, the Gyrenes went cold in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter as they fell to the Warriors 67-64.
The opening frame of the conference opener did not go the Gyrenes' way. Ave Maria went 2-for-15 from the floor. One of those two buckets made was a three pointer Talia Pellegrini while the other basket was a layup from Colleen Shanahan. On the other side of the court, Webber hit seven shots, four from beyond the arc. The one area that did go right for the Gyrenes was Webber committed eight team fouls in the frame leading to six made free throws. The score was 20-11 after one quarter.
Ave Maria found their groove in the second quarter, hitting seven baskets in the second. Tacked on with another six made free throws and the Gyrenes put up 20 points in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Webber scored 17, so while the Gyrenes won the quarter, Webber took a 37-31 lead into the break.
The third quarter was all Ave Maria, who outscored Webber 17-9 to take the lead. The Gyrenes hit seven more shots out of the half. Ella Thompson hit a layup four minutes into the quarter to give Ave Maria their first lead of the game since the opening bucket. On the next possession, Thompson hit the second three pointer of the game for the Gyrenes to put them up by five, Ame Maria's largest lead of the night. The frame ended with Ave Maria leading 48-46.
The two teams wrestled with the lead in the early minutes of the final quarter. Webber took hold of the lead bout three minutes in and held on for another three minutes. Just like the first three quarters, Ave Maria worked their way back to the Warriors again and retook the lead off a Lavariah Armstead three that made the score 62-61.
Ave Maria couldn't capitalize on the momentum though as they went 1-for-5 in the last three minutes. Down three with the shot clock turned off, the Gyrenes had a chance to tie it but missed the shot and the Warriors ran the clock out.
The loss drops Ave Maria to 1-2 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.
Individually, Armstead led the team with 17 points. Armstead also lead the team with nine rebounds and three steals. Casey Humphrey was the only other Gyrene in double figures with 11.
Ave Maria is home for their next two games as they continue the early conference season of their schedule. The Gyrenes are back on the court Wednesday, November 20, against the newest member of the Sun Conference, the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. Wednesday will be the first ever meeting between the Gyrenes and the Mighty Banyans. Tipoff is set for 5:30 and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
