AVE MARIA, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's basketball team played their final home game of December Tuesday evening as they hosted the Bethel Pilots. Unfortunately, the visitors were almost unstoppable from beyond the arc as the Gyrenes fell 89-62.
The Gyrenes never led in the game as Bethel scored the first seven points of the game. The closest AMU got was within three-points in the first quarter, but a Pilots' three-pointer made the deficit multiple possessions, and it stayed that way for the rest of the game.
At the end of the first frame, the Gyrenes found themselves trailing 19-12. Ave Maria hit the first basket of the second quarter, but that ended up being the only positive moment of the frame. Bethel scored 30 points in the second quarter, powered by six three-pointers, to bump their lead from seven points to 24 points. The Pilots ended the half with eight total three-pointers.
The third quarter was almost an exact copy of the first, with the Gyrenes scoring 12 points to Bethel's 19.
Down 31 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Gyrenes played a lot looser than the previous three frames and outscored the Pilots 25-21 in the final 10 minutes. Ave Maria took a cue from Bethel and drained five three-pointers in the quarter. Elena Barnes and Parker Straub each hit two trifectas while Gabby Beauperthuy hit the other. The Gyrenes finished with eight three-pointers on the game. Beauperthuy had the most with three.
Bethel also hit five threes in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with a total of 16. It is the fourth-most three-pointers a team has made against the Gyrenes since the program started in 2009, and the most since Southeastern hit 17 on February 3, 2024. Individually, Bethel's Oliva Nickerson knocked down 11 three-pointers, which is the most by any individual opponent in Ave Maria history.
Individually, Elena Barnes led the team with a season-high 22 points. Ashley Chilson and Beauperthuy also hit double figures with 18 and 11, respectively. Barnes and Chilson were the only two Gyrenes to attempt free throws throughout the entire game and collectively went 20-for-21 from the charity stripe. At a 95.2% shooting percentage, it was the best showing at the free throw line this season from the Gyrenes.
With the loss, Ave Maria falls to 4-5 overall.
The Gyrenes are on the road for the final three games in the month of December. All three games are exhibitions against NCAA Division II schools starting with a clash against Palm Beach Atlantic Saturday, December 20. The next countable game for Ave Maria will be when the conference season picks back up in January.
