AVE MARIA, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle women's basketball team dropped its second straight contest on Wednesday evening, falling to Ave Maria by a score of 87-65. With the loss, ERAU falls to 13-8 and 5-6 in The Sun Conference, while the Gyrenes improve to 13-11, 4-8 in league play.
Taylor Cyphers and Sabrina Whiting led the Eagles in scoring with 14 points, while Tara Fields chipped in 10. Kalah Martin scored nine points while dishing out a team-high eight assists and pulling down a game-high seven rebounds.
Taylor Lindsey led AMU with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting and Annie Artise scored 20 points; both Lindsey and Artise also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and tallied a game-high four steals. Lauren Gillingham chipped in with 14 points and Madison McDonald added 12 points while racking up a game-high 10 assists.
Embry-Riddle got off to a rough start, falling behind 9-0 in the game's opening minutes. By the 13:09 mark the Gyrenes had made it a 10-point game (18-8), but the Eagles rallied back, eventually taking their first lead on a Cyphers layup with 7:35 on the clock, putting ERAU ahead, 22-21. Fields knocked down a pair of free throws with just over six minutes to play in the half, capping a 20-3 run that increased the ERAU lead to 28-21.
Ave Maria answered back with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 28, and just before halftime Artise hit a three that gave the home team a 35-34 advantage heading into the locker room.
Much like they did to open the first half, the Gyrenes came out and dominated the opening minutes of the second half, stretching their one-point halftime lead to 16 points (55-39) in less than six minutes. Unlike the first period, the Eagles couldn't muster a rally to close the gap, and by the 6:58 mark AMU had increased the lead to 20 points (72-52). Ave Maria never allowed the Blue and Gold to get back in to the game, pulling away for an 87-65 win.
The Eagles return home to the ICI Center on Saturday to host Warner at 5 p.m. in another Sun Conference contest. Embry-Riddle will look to return to the win column, as ERAU has yet to lose a conference game at home (4-0).
