AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team earned one of the biggest regular seasons wins in recent memory Saturday afternoon, moving into a tie for first place in The Sun Conference with one week to play thanks to a 66-62 win over the Bobcats of St. Thomas University. The Gyrenes came up clutch in the final ten seconds of the game, with two free throws and a massive defensive play moving AMU atop the SUN standings with two games to play.

St. Thomas hit three-pointers on their first two possessions of the game, setting the tone for the first quarter. The Bobcats would race out to a 19-9 lead in the opening frame, forcing nine AMU turnovers to keep the Gyrenes from gaining any momentum. Ave Maria was able to get two back on a pair of free throws, cutting the Bobcat lead to 19-11 after one quarter.

With their hopes for a conference title on the line, Ave Maria wasn't about to lay down for the Bobcats. The Gyrenes scored 12 points in under four minutes to start the second, evening the score at 23. Ave Maria wasn't able to take the lead in the second, but got back in the contest by outscoring STU 17-11, cutting the Bobcat lead to 30-28 at the halftime break.

AMU finally grabbed the lead in the third quarter, going up 38-36 on a pair of free throws by Maria Kuhlman with 4:22 to play. The lead swung back and forth several times in the final four minutes of the frame, with a layup before the buzzer by Casey Humphrey giving Ave Maria a 45-44 lead at the end of the third.

Ave Maria seemed to gain control of the game in the fourth, leading by seven with 2:47 to play. However, St. Thomas closed that gap with an 8-1 run, tying the score at 62 with 19 seconds left. With the game tied, the Gyrenes got the ball to Colleen Shanahan, who was fouled. 

The forward knocked down the biggest free throws of her career, putting Ave Maria up by two with nine seconds left. On the ensuing STU possession, Emily Rapacz jumped in front of the inbounds pass for a massive steal. Rapacz then made both of her free throws with four seconds left to seal the win.

Maria Kuhlman bolstered her case for end-of-year honors in The Sun Conference with a brilliant performance. The graduate student scored 25 points, 15 of which came from long distance. She also narrowly missed out on a double-double with eight rebounds. Shanahan was a force in the paint for the Gyrenes, recording 16 points and eleven rebounds, while Rapacz stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds, six steals, four blocks, and three assists.

With one week to go in the season, Ave Maria is now two wins away from at least a share of The Sun Conference championship. Both of those wins will need to come on the road, as the Gyrenes finish the regular season with games at Webber International and Coastal Georgia. 

Results in the games involving St. Thomas and Southeastern, the other 9-3 teams in the league, would determine who hosts the conference tournament. The first of those games, against Webber, is slated for Wednesday night at 5:30 pm.