AVE MARIA, Fla. — A disastrous fourth quarter sunk the Ave Maria Women's Basketball team Saturday afternoon as the Gyrenes fell to the St. Thomas Bobcats 68-65. The Bobcats more than doubled up the Gyrenes in the final 10 minutes as Ave Maria let a late lead slip through their hands.
The games started off well for the Gyrenes as they took the first quarter 16-12. Gianna Santacroce led the scoring in the opening frame with eight points, six of those coming off two three pointers. The Gyrenes ended the frame with a 6-1 run to get up by four points.
Ave Maria had another big run in the second quarter, this time outscoring St. Thomas 9-1 in just two and half minutes, to break out to an eight point lead. The Bobcats fought their way back, but Ave Maria held onto a 35-32 lead heading into the break.
Out of halftime, the Gyrenes did not miss a beat in the early stages of the third quarter. In the first six minutes of the frame, Ave Maria outscored St. Thomas 16-5 to get out to a 14-point lead, their largest of the afternoon. The Gyrenes hit two more threes in the run, while STU went 2-for-8 from the field and had three turnovers.
Heading into the fourth quarter, AMU had a nine point lead. However, the lead did not stick. Similar to the Gyrenes' run at the start of the third quarter, St. Thomas outscored AMU 17-6 in the first five and half minutes to tie the game at 59 with four and half minutes left to play. The lead changed hands a couple of times, but Ave Maria could not put the Bobcats away.
With just shy of a minute remaining, St. Thomas hit a jumper to take a 67-65 lead. Ave Maria missed a shot on their next possession and were forced to foul. St. Thomas hit one of two free throws putting the Gyrenes down three with seven seconds left to go. AMU got one final shot to try and tie the game, but unlike Wednesday night, the three did not go in to force overtime.
With the loss, the Gyrenes fall to 3-4 in conference play and 7-11 overall. Fourteen points is the largest lead Ave Maria has lost this season.
Santacroce led the team in scoring with 18 points, knocking down four trifectas. Ella Thompson and Lavariah Armstead also hit double digits with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Gyrenes are on the road for their next game, traveling up to Lakeland to take on the Southeastern Fire. The Fire are second in the Sun Conference with a league record of 6-1 and an overall record of 16-3. The Fire also have the longest winning streak in the Sun Conference, winning their last eight games. Tipoff is set for 5:30 and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
