AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball team dropped another non-conference game to a team from the Crossroads League, falling to the Goshen Maple Leafs 74-52. The Gyrenes had a tough time getting baskets to fall Tuesday afternoon, posting their lowest shooting percentage of the season.
The game started off well enough for Ave Maria, hitting their first three shots of the game to race out to a 6-0 lead. Unfortunately, Goshen found their groove shortly after, hitting a jumper and two threes to take the lead. The Maple Leafs never relinquished the lead after that and led for the rest of the game.
Goshen ended the quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 17-9 after one frame.
The Gyrenes started to hit their shots in the second quarter, putting up 18 points, but the Maple Leafs continue to outshoot AMU hitting 28 points. Goshen ended the first half shooting 54.8% from the field while the Gyrenes were at 37.9%. Ave Maria also went the whole first half without a three-pointer, going 0-for-4 from behind the arc.
Things got closer in the second half, but Ave Maria had a tough time narrowing the lead. The Leafs outscored them again in the third quarter 15-11 to extend the lead to 22 points.
The fourth quarter saw Ave Maria play Goshen to a tie, each scoring 14 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. In the final frame, the Gyrenes hit their first three of the afternoon, with Mary Smith connecting from downtown. It was the only three AMU hit all game, finishing 1-for-13 from deep. That is the least amount of the threes for Ave Maria this season.
The loss drops Ave Maria's record to 5-4 now and 3-3 in non-conference play. The Gyrenes finished the game with a shooting percentage of 33.9%, their lowest of the season.
Isabella Starzyk led the team in scoring with nine points, a season-high for her. Lavariah Armstead led the team in rebounding, also with a season-high of nine.
The Gyrenes are back in action Wednesday as they host the Northwestern Red Raiders in the Gyrene Christmas Classic. It is the first of two games at the Tom Golisano Field House, with the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers and the Avila Eagles playing right after. On Thursday, Avila and Ave Maria will swap opponents to complete the classic.
Tipoff between the Gyrenes and Red Raiders is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
