AVE MARIA, Fla. — The first 25 minutes of the contest was a tight battle between the Ave Maria Women's Basketball team and the Florida Memorial Lions. However, a cold streak for the Gyrenes and a hot streak for Lions led to a wildly different game by the end as the Gyrenes fell to the Lions 72-48.
Within the first possession of the game, an Ashley Chilson jumper put the Gyrenes on the board. For nearly the next four minutes, both teams failed to capitalize on the offensive end. Elena Barnes broke the dry spell, after knocking down two shots at the charity stripe. With 5:23 left in the first, a Cortney Smith three pointer put the Gyrenes up 7-0. The Lions began to click in the half court as they eventually took the lead. A late Gaby Beauperthuy bucket in the paint tied the game 11-11 as the teams made their way to the bench.
The second quarter started with both teams trading offensive looks, eventually the Lions found their way up four. Tiffany Le found Barnes who knocked down a triple to cut the lead to just one point. Both teams traded baskets on the offensive end. With 2:50 remaining in the half, a Beauperthuy free-throw gave the Gyrenes their first lead since the first quarter. Unfortunately, the lead did not last long as Florida Memorial went on an 8-0 run to close out the quarter and went into the locker room up 32-25.
At the start of the third quarter, the Gyrenes chiseled away at the deficit as the clawed their way back. Ave Maria outscored Florida Memorial 9-4 in the first five minutes of the frame with buckets from Le and Chilson. The run made it a two point game, but then the Gyrenes went cold from the field. Ave Maria shot 0-for-6 in the final four and half minutes of the third quarter while the Lions went on a 10-0 run.
The final 10 minutes served as the most efficient period for the Lions as they pulled away from the Gyrenes. Building off their run from the third quarter, Florida Memorial at one point was on a 30-5 run, changing the score from 36-34 to 66-39. The lions were able to find multiple looks in the half court through the frame.
Ave Maria got a few points towards the end of the quarter, but it wasn't enough as Florida Memorial cruised to a 24-point win.
Beauperthuy led the Gyrenes and posted another double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Chilson added 11 points, and Barnes added 8.
With the loss, Ave Maria is even at .500 again with a 9-9 overall record and a 6-6 record in conference play. The Gyrenes drop down to a tie for sixth place with the Webber Warriors, and since Webber won both regular season meetings, if the conference tournament were to start today, the Gyrenes would be the first team left out of the bracket. With five teams in the middle fighting for four spots, the final four games of the season will carry a lot of weight for the Gyrenes.
Ave Maria will get Wednesday off before closing out the regular season with their toughest stretch. The Gyrenes will play four games in eight days to wrap up the season starting with hosting Keiser at home Saturday, February 14. Ave Maria won the first meeting between the two in West Palm Beach in January with a 52-46 victory. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Urban Edge Network.
