NORTH MIAMI, Fla. — The Ave Maria Women's Basketball team logged their first win of the 2026-27 campaign, beating the Fort Lauderdale Eagles 85-43. The Gyrenes were led by junior Ashley Chilson, who scored a program record 35 points in the game.
Ave Maria and Fort Lauderdale were scheduled to play each other Saturday, October 31, but that game was canceled. Monday's game was always on the schedule but ended up becoming the first meeting between the two teams instead of the second.
The Gyrenes were champing at the bit after not getting to play a real game on Saturday and used that energy to jump out to an early lead. Chilson scored the first six points for the Gyrenes off two layups and two free throws in just 85 seconds of game action.
Fort Lauderdale clawed their way back to a 10-10 tie, but that was as close as the Eagles would get to the Gyrenes. UFTL never had a lead in the 40 minutes of play.
Ave Maria closed out the frame with an 8-0 run, getting layups from Chilson and freshman newcomer Ava Zucco.
The second quarter is where the Gyrenes really extended their lead. In the middle minutes of the frame, Ave Maria went on a 13-0, turning a nine-point lead into a 22-point lead. Chilson again led the scoring during the run, with eight of the 13 points, including a three-pointer.
The Eagles scored a few points at the end of the quarter, but the Gyrenes went into the locker room up 38-20.
The third quarter was the closest one of the four Monday night, with Ave Maria outscoring Fort Lauderdale by just two points. It was the most back-and-forth quarter of the game as each team had an answer whenever the other hit a basket. At the end of three frames, Ave Maria led 54-34.
The second half ended up being a tale of two quarters. After coming off the most competitive frame, the game ended with the biggest blowout frame as the Gyrenes outscored Fort Lauderdale 31-9. Nine different Gyrenes scored in the final 10 minutes, going 12-for-20 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point land. The four trifectas came from Elena Snyder, Parker Straub and Mylee Van De Wouw.
There was no large run during the fourth quarter, but rather multiple 8-0 and 9-0 runs and constant pressure from the Gyrenes. Van De Wouw's three pointer was the last bucket of the game and gave Ave Maria its biggest lead of the night at 42 points.
Chilson led the scoring with a program-record 35 points. The previous record was 34 points in a game, set by Erika Derks in 2010. Two other Gyrenes hit double figures as Straub brought home 13 and Snyder scored 10.
On the glass, Chilson led the team as well with 14 rebounds, logging her third double-double of the season in as many games. She was the only Gyrene to hit double figure rebounds.
With the win, Ave Maria improves to 1-2 on the year.
The Gyrenes are on the road again Saturday as they head to Hialeah, Florida, to take on the Florida National Conquistadors. The Gyrenes swept the Conquistadors last year, winning both games. Saturday will be the first of two games against FNU this season as the two teams scheduled another home-and-home. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on Florida National's Hudl page.
