AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball began their 2024-25 campaign Friday afternoon in dominant fashion, beating their NCCAA opponent Kuyper Cougars 84-52. The Gyrenes raced out to a 36-point lead in the first half and pulled all of their starter for the final two quarters.
Ave Maria scored nine points before the Cougars got on the scoreboard, thanks to two three-pointers from senior Gianna Santacroce. The Cougars went on a little 6-2 run of their own to get back with in five of the Gyrenes, but that was the closest the game would ever be.
Ave Maria closed the quarter out strong, outscoring Kuyper 9-2 in the final four minutes of the frame.
The second frame was even better than the first as Ave Maria scored 17 straight points to jump out to a 37-8 lead. The Gyrenes hit seven of their 12 shots in that run, including another downtown splash from Santacroce.
After the media timeout, Ave Maria put 13 more points on the board to end the first half at 50.
Defensively, the Gyrenes only allowed 14 points from the Cougars in the opening 20 minutes. It is the first time since February 18, 2023, that Ave Maria has held an opponent to less than 15 points in a half.
With such a big league, Coach Alex Moorehead sat his starters for the final two quarters of the game. Santacroce led the starters with 11 points, while fellow seniors Casey Humphrey, Lavariah Armstead and Colleen Shanahan each scored six, five and three points respectively.
Kuyper showed some life in the second half and even outscored the Gyrenes in the final two quarters, but Ave Maria was able to keep pace with the Cougars and always keep them at arm's length. The biggest the lead got was 42 points at the start of the fourth quarter after a layup from Tiffany Le.
Sophomore Mary Smith and freshman Ashley Chilson led the Gyrenes in the second half, each with 10 points, though through different means. Smith hit two threes for the majority of her points while Chilson got six of her 10 from the charity stripe.
Over the whole game, Smith led the team in points with 13, hitting a three in the first half as well. Santacroce and Chilson were the other two Gyrenes to score in double figures.
With the win, Ave Maria starts the season off right at 1-0. The Gyrenes also keep the streak alive and are now 11-0 at home since moving back to the Tom Golisano Field House in December of 2023.
Ave Maria is back in action Saturday, November 2, against another NCCAA team in the Covenant Scots. The Scots played right before the Gyrenes' season opener in a neutral site bout at the Tom Golisano Field House against the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans. The Scots beat the Mighty Banyans 53-51, hitting the game winning shot with 1.2 seconds left on the clock and then forcing a five-second rule turnover on the proceeding inbound for New College.
Tipoff is set for 10 a.m. and is the first of four games taking place on campus on homecoming weekend. Right after the basketball game, New College and Kuyper will play a neutral site game at noon, then Ave Maria takes on the Mighty Banyans in volleyball at 2 p.m., and the evening concludes with football against Warner at 7 p.m. All four games will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
