MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team earned a crucial Sun Conference win Wednesday evening, topping the Lions of Florida Memorial University by a 71-66 score in Miami Gardens. The win, coupled with St. Thomas' win over Southeastern, ensured the Gyrenes control their own destiny for a share of The Sun Conference title, as wins in the last three games of the season would crown AMU.
The Gyrenes found themselves in an early hole on the road, as Florida Memorial built a lead of 17-9 less than eight minutes into the game. AMU responded well, with buckets from Isabella Starzyk, Lavariah Armstead, and Colleen Shanahan cutting the FMU lead to two in the span of 70 seconds. The Lions did score before the buzzer, taking a 19-15 lead into the second.
AMU again found themselves down eight in the second quarter, trailing 25-17 with seven minutes to play in the half. From that point, Ave Maria outscored the Lions by a 15-8 margin, including taking leads of 28-27, 30-27, and 32-30 before a late three-pointer from FMU's Dasiah Thornton allowed the Lions to escape into halftime with a one-point lead.
Coming out of halftime, the Gyrenes completely shut down the Lions offensively. Florida Memorial missed 12 of their 14 shots in the third, including all six of their three-point attempts. Six of Florida Memorial's seven points came in the first four minutes of the frame, with Ave Maria outscoring the Lions by a 9-1 margin for the remainder of the frame. That run allowed the Gyrenes to lead at the end of a quarter for the first time, holding an edge of 47-40.
Ave Maria looked to have the game firmly in hand for much of the fourth quarter, until Florida Memorial mounted a late comeback attempt. Ave Maria led by 13 points, 58-45, with 6:28 remaining on the clock. FMU rallied to within one possession at one point, cutting the Gyrene lead to three, 62-59. Maria Kuhlman hit a big three-pointer with 1:56 on the clock to make it a six-point game, and FMU never again got closer than five points.
Kuhlman was again sensational for the Gyrenes, leading AMU with 16 points and nine rebounds. Shanahan did her part in the paint with 14 points and eight rebounds. Armstead and Staryk also came up big for Ave Maria, finishing the night with eight points a piece. AMU's major edge over FMU came in the paint, as the Gyrenes, led by Shanahan and Starzyk, outscored the Lions 38-12 in the paint.
Arguably the biggest regular season game for Ave Maria in a decade awaits on Saturday, as 8-3 Ave Maria welcomes 9-2 St. Thomas to the Tom Golisano Field House. A win for the Gyrenes would give AMU a share of first place with two games to go, while an STU win would put the Bobcats firmly in the driver's seat. Tipoff from new Golisano is set for 2:00 p.m., with Senior Day festivities before the contest.
