AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University women's basketball team never found their footing in the regular season finale, falling 76-48 Saturday afternoon to the Fire of Southeastern University. Ave Maria fell behind early and never recovered, falling to the Fire in the final game played this season at the Tom Golisano Field House. Prior to the game, the Gyrenes honored the seven members of the class of 2025, who were playing their final game on the Golisano court regardless of outcome.

For about six minutes, the Gyrenes played level with the SUN title contenders, with the score even at nine at the first quarter media timeout. However, Southeastern went on an 8-0 run to end the first quarter, and the Fire cruised from there. Southeastern outscored Ave Maria 19-10 in the second quarter, taking a 36-19 lead into the halftime break. SEU outscored the Gyrenes in both the third and fourth quarters, leading by as many as 31 points en route to the 28-point victory.

All but four of the Gyrene points were scored by the senior class, with Colleen Shanahan leading the way. The senior center finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds, her 13th double-double of the season. Shanahan concludes conference play averaging a double-double against league opponents, putting up 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per SUN game. Emily Rapacz followed with eight points, while Lavariah Armstead chipped in seven.

The Gyrenes will begin postseason play on Tuesday, as Ave Maria heads across Alligator Alley for a meeting with the Keiser University Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The Seahawks won both meetings between the teams this season, but recent history has been kinder to the Gyrenes. Ave Maria has knocked Keiser out of the Sun Conference Tournament in each of the past three seasons, including a win in the SUN semifinals last season in Lakeland. AMU will go for four consecutive trips to the conference semifinals at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.