Box Score
LAKE WALES, Fla. – It was a tale of two halves for the Warner University women’s basketball as they relinquished an 11-point halftime lead to Ave Maria University Saturday afternoon to lose 67-63 in the Turner Athletic Center. The Royals drop to 9-12 with a 3-5 conference mark while the Gyrenes improve to 14-9 (5-3 The Sun Conference) and extend their win streak to six games.
The Gyrenes opened the half with a quick layup from Sandy Jenkins, however the Royals responded with an offensive burst coupled with some tenacious defense to jump out to a 12-0 run to take a 10-point lead within the first seven minutes of the period. The Gyrenes eventually broke their scoring slump with three free-throws to bring the score to 12-5. The Royals defense allowed the Gyrenes only four more points in the ensuing five minutes while tacking on 14 more points to extend their lead to 17, 26-9. The Gyrenes eventually were able to chip away at the Royals lead, to close the half down 11, 34-23.
The Gyrenes staged an impressive comeback in the second half; they only shot 38.7% from the floor in the period but used hot shooting from behind the arc to aid their comeback. They shot 62.5% from three-point land in the frame with Kristin Lange hitting a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range.
The Royals had opposite luck, hitting only 25% from the floor in the half. Ave Maria capitalized on the Royals shooting woes and eventually took a seven-point lead, 61-54 with 54 seconds remaining in regulation. From there the intensity picked up as Warner rallied off a 7-1 run, highlighted by a layup and three-pointer from Trenecia Henderson to cut their deficit to one, 62-61. The Gyrenes were able to push their lead back to three on two free-throws from game scoring leader Emily Huber, but the Royals were able to stay within one yet again on two free-throws from Christina Howard.
The Gyrenes had an opportunity to push the lead to three again with two free-throws, but split the free shots, leaving the Royals deficit to only two with 15 seconds left. The Royals had the opportunity to tie the game with five seconds left on the clock but the layup rolled off giving the Gyrenes the chance to put the game out of reach. Huber went on to sink two more free throws in the waning seconds to seal the victory
Ivana Soberal led the Royals in scoring with 12 points to go along with nine rebounds while Howard grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Huber led all scorers with 15 points.
The Royals look to bounce back when they host Voorhees College (S.C.) in a 7 p.m. game Monday night in the Turner Athletic Center.