BRUNSWICK, Ga. — It was a tight game all the way down to the wire on Saturday, but the Ave Maria Women's Basketball team came up just short to the Coastal Georgia Mariners, falling 77-74.
The Gyrenes started off hot in the first quarter, shooting over 50% from the field. Ave Maria hit their biggest lead of the game with just over two minutes remaining in the frame. A back-to-back layup and three pointer from Gabby Beauperthuy and Parker Straub put them up 19-11. Unfortunately, Coastal Georgia stormed back and scored eight points in the final minute to tie the game at 19 at the quarter break.
Neither team grabbed more than a two-possession lead in the second quarter. Ave Maria led in the early minutes, but the Mariners once again came back led for the final four minutes of the game. Heading into the break, the Gyrenes found themselves trailing 42-40.
The third quarter was the most lopsided of the game, with Coastal Georgia outscoring Ave Maria 19-15 to take a six-point lead heading to the final frame. The Mariners started full court pressing the Gyrenes in the third quarter, causing eight turnovers. The Gyrenes still shot the ball well when then finally got it across the timeline but had less possessions than the Mariners in total.
The Gyrenes tried to come back in the fourth quarter and worked two more ties before the media timeout in the frame. However, after each tie, the Mariners hit their next shot to stay in front. Ashley Chilson hit a layup to bring the Gyrenes within three of Coastal Georgia with 37 seconds left in the game. The Gyrenes played solid defense on the following possession, but a Mariner jumper put the deficit back at two possessions with eight seconds remaining. The Gyrenes got a trip to the free throw line to get back within three, but the clock expired before they could touch the ball one more time.
Individually, Gabby Beauperthuy led the team with 24 points, almost doubling her previous career-high at Ave Maria and matching her collegiate career-high from Midland University in 2024. Elena Barnes was second on the team in scoring with 15 points, her fifth game in double figures and fourth game in a row. Both Beauperthuy and Barnes recorded double doubles by tying for the team lead with 10 rebounds.
Two more Gyrenes hit double figures with Givanna Rogers hitting 13 points and Chilson hitting 12 points.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Saturday was the final league game of the calendar year for the Gyrenes. They will pick up conference play in January of 2026.
The Gyrenes will stay in the Peach State for a couple more days as they travel across Georgia to Thomasville to take on the Thomas Night Hawks. Thomas left the Sun Conference in 2023 for the Southern States Athletic Conference. Ave Maria has only played the Night Hawks once since they left, beating them in December of 2023.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
