BRUNSWICK, Ga. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball team got their fourth win in a row Wednesday night at Coastal Georgia, narrowly beating the Mariners 55-51. The Gyrenes weathered a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter from Coastal Georgia to secure the win.
Coastal Georgia led for most of the first quarter, but the Gyrenes closed the frame with an 8-0 run to take a 19-15 lead. Emily Rapacz led the way in the run, hitting two free throws to put Ave Maria on top and then knocking down a three to build up the two possession lead. The Gyrenes never trailed after Rapacz's free throws.
In the second quarter, the Gyrenes held Coastal Georgia to just nine points. The Mariners went 2-for-15 from the field and 1-for-7 from three-point range after not attempting a three in the first quarter. The Gyrenes on the other hand scored 13 points and one point led by 12, their largest lead of the night.
Ave Maria matched Coastal Georgia shot for shot for most of the third quarter, with the Mariners hitting a last second three before the end of the frame to narrow the deficit down from eight to seven.
After an opening layup from Colleen Shanahan, Coastal went on an 11-4 run to get within two of the Gyrenes with a little over three minutes on the clock. Both teams went cold from the floor after that, and just two free throws from both teams kept the margin at two with one minute left.
Up by just one possession with 12 seconds left, Ave Maria took a poorly timed foul that put the Mariners at the line with a chance to tie the game for the first time since end of the first quarter. Fortunately for the Gyrenes, Tyler Bulter missed her first free that kept the Gyrenes in front by one.
With the ball and the lead, Casey Humphrey was fouled and knocked down two free throws to put Ave Maria up by three. Humphrey hit all four free throws she attempted Wednesday night, giving her 306 in her Ave Maria career, which passes her by Cassie Kreiger for the third most free throws all time in program history.
Coastal Georgia attempted one more three-point to tie the game, but it missed the backboard giving Ave Maria the ball with 1.8 seconds left. CCG managed to get one more foul in that time and Lavariah Armstead hit a free throw to ice the game.
Shanahan led the team with 21 points. Wednesday is the seventh game this season Shanahan has led the team in scoring, tying her with Armstead for the most this season. Shanahan also led the team with 16 rebounds, recording her 11
th double-double of the season. Armstead was the other Gyrenes in double-figures with 10 points.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 7-5 in conference play and 11-12 overall. The Gyrenes have now won four games in a row which is tied for the longest streak in the Sun Conference. The Gyrenes hold steady at fifth place but are now 3.5 games ahead of Coastal Georgia in sixth place and just a game behind Keiser in fourth place. Ave Maria is one win away from clinching a spot in the Sun Conference tournament for the ninth year in a row.
The Gyrenes are back home Saturday for their next game as they take on the Warner Royals. The Gyrenes got their first of the 2025 calendar year against Warner, beating the Royals 85-53 in Lake Wales. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Sun Digital Network.
