AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball team got their first conference win of the season Wednesday night, topping the New College of Florida Mighty Banyans 76-51. A monster second quarter propelled the Gyrenes in front and gave them a lead they never relinquished.
The first quarter started off evenly between the two teams, but New College went on a 11-s in the final five minutes of the frame to grab their biggest lead of the night at 18-11.
Down seven, Ave Maria regrouped and put together one of their best quarters of the season to surge into the lead. The Gyrenes made the first four shots of the frame to retake the lead, one they wouldn't lose for the rest of the game. Three of those four shots were three pointers from Gianna Santacroce.
Ave Maria kept piling on the points, finishing with 28 in the second quarter to take a 39-26 lead into halftime. Twenty-eight is the second-most points the Gyrenes have scored in a frame this season, just two behind their 30-point second quarter against Kuyper in the season opener. As a team, they were 59% from the field and 4-for-4 from downtown.
The third quarter featured even more scoring from the Gyrenes, going on a 16-2 run in the first five minutes to take a 55-28 lead. New College strung a few buckets together towards the end of the quarter, but the Gyrenes were cruising ahead of the Mighty Banyans.
The Gyrenes closed the game out in the fourth quarter, outscoring New College for the third frame in a row. An Emily Rapacz three put the Gyrenes up 27 in the middle of the quarter, their largest lead of the night.
Ave Maria locked down on defense in the final four minutes to close out the game with a 76-51 win.
Santacroce led the team in scoring with 15 points, all from five threes. That brings her career total up to 185 trifectas. She is eight away from tying Annie Artise for the second-most three-pointers in program history.
Two other Gyrenes hit double figures with Rapacz scoring 13 and Ella Thompson bringing home 10. That is a season-high for both. Rapacz also led the team with nine rebounds.
With the win, Ave Maria evens up both their overall record and the conference record at 2-2 and 1-1, respectively.
Wednesday was the start of a four-game homestand for the Gyrenes through the end of November and early December. The Gyrenes are back on the court at Tom Golisano Field House Saturday, November 23, against the Coastal Georgia Mariners. It is the final conference game for Ave Maria until 2025. The Gyrenes swept Coastal Georgia in their two games agaisnt each other last season. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
