AVE MARIA, Fla. – The Thomas University Women's basketball team were on the cusp of victory, but the Lady Night Hawks could not hold on to its lead, despite a late push in the final minute, ultimately falling to Ave Maria 62-60 at the Golisano Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.
 
TU (1-12, 1-12 TSC) had the lead for nearly 34 minutes of the game.  The Lady Night Hawks had a lead as large as 15 in the second period before Ave Maria (5-12, 2-9 TSC) chipped their way back into the contest, taking its first lead with under six minutes to go in regulation after Senior Forward Destiny Reed fouled out.  The Hunter Green & White outshot the Gyrenes 62-46, but could only convert 35.5% of the time, including 30.8% from long range. 
 
In 18 minutes of play, Reed recorded a quarter of the team's total points with 15 on the afternoon, shooting 75% from the floor before fouling out.  Senior Guard Alexis Powell and Sophomore Guard Gabrielle Jester tallied 11 points apiece, with Jester hitting 3-of-8 shots outside the arc.
 
1st Period (TU 12, AMU 9)

• The Lady Night Hawks jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first 2:23 of play

 

• Destiny Reed was off to a fiery start, hitting her first four field goals and leading all scorers in the quarter with eight points

 

• TU held Ave Maria to 0 points in the back half of the period

 
2nd Period (TU 28, AMU 24)

• The first four minutes of the quarter only featured an Gyrene layup that cut TU's lead 12-11

 

• At the 5:58 mark, the Hunter Green & White began an impressive 14-0 run, going 6-for-6 from the field in just two minutes and 13 seconds

 

• Thomas' defense forced six turnovers in the 2:13 span

 

• The Gyrenes finished the half with a scoring run (13-2) of their own to head into the locker room down by four points

 
3rd Period (TU 45, AMU 41)

• TU shot 40% in the quarter

 

• Both teams only made one 3-Ptr. apiece in the period

 

• The free-throw game was absolute perfection for the Lady Night Hawks, going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe

 
4th Period (AMU 62, TU 60)

• Thomas forced seven turnovers

 

• After Gabrielle Jester's jumper extended TU's lead 47-41 1:19 into the period, AMU outscored TU 9-0 over the course of three minutes, taking its first lead 50-47

 

• Missed baskets and free throws late cost TU key chances to retake the lead

 

• Thomas tried a late 5-1 push in the final 12 seconds, including a Jester 3-Ptr. that did not leave enough time on the clock for the Hunter Green & White to get the ball back

 

• The Lady Night Hawks outshot the Gyrenes 19-6 in the quarter

 
TU by the Numbers
3:      Players Scoring Double Digits
15:    Largest Lead of the Game
23:    Bench Points
25:    Forced Turnovers
39:    Team Rebounds
60:    Total Points
 
Thomas returns to the court Tuesday, as the team returns to Babson Park, Fla. to face Webber International for a third time.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU women's basketball team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksWBKB.