Score: Ave Maria 60, Keiser 59
Records: Keiser (18-11, 8-8 SUN), Ave Maria (15-11, 8-8 SUN)
Location: Donahue Gym, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Keiser Starters: Shykim Gillion (G),
Chiara De Virgilio (G),
Taylor Jones (F),
Kaitlyn Fertig (F),
Angela Denis (C).
Ave Maria Starters: Gianna Santacroce (F), Lavariah Armstead (G), Casey Humphrey (G), Colleen Shanahan (F), Emily Rapacz (F)
The Keiser women's basketball team closed out the 2021-22 regular season with 60-59 loss at Ave Maria.
Three Seahawks reached double-figures in scoring, including
Chiara De Virgilio, who led Keiser with 12 points (all from 3-point range).
Up 59-56 with 3:13 remaining in the game, the Seahawks were held scoreless, going 0-of-4 from the field.
Keiser 19, Ave Maria 16
- Ave Maria opened the game on an 8-0 run.
- Kaitlyn Fertig scored the first points for the Seahawks, hitting a triple with 6:15 left in the first, 8-3.
- Down 12-4, KU used a 10-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Julia Fitzwater to take a 14-12 lead with 2:30 on the game clock.
- Chiara De Virgilio hit a trey with five seconds on the clock to give the Seahawks a 19-16 lead after one.
Keiser 35, Ave Maria 28
- Back-to-back 3-pointers by Fitzwater and Andressa Nascimento pushed the Keiser lead to 25-16 with 8:56 remaining in the half.
- The Gyrenes cut the Sehawks lead to two, 30-28, following a 3-pointer by Gianna Santacroce (4:03).
- A 5-0 run by the Seahawks to close out the half gave KU a 35-28 lead.
Ave Maria 47, Keiser 46
- A layup by Angela Denis gave Keiser a 39-30 lead with 7:56 left in the third.
- Denis scored off a missed 3-pointer by Fitzwater to give KU a 41-33 lead with 7:05 on the clock.
- The Gyrenes used a 7-0 run to pull within one, 41-40.
- De Virgilio his a shot from downtown to make it a 46-40 game in favor of the Seahawks (3:17).
- A 7-0 run by AMU to close out the third gave the Gyrenes a 47-46 lead.
Ave Maria 60, Keiser 59
- Trailing 52-48 early in the fourth, KU went on 5-0 run to take a 53-52 lead with 6:58 on the game clock.
- The lead changed hands three times before a layup by AMU's Lavariah Armstead tied the game at 56-56 (4:55).
- De Virgilio hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game to give the Seahawks a 59-56 lead with 3:31 left in the the game.
- The Seahawks were held scoreless in the final 3:13 going 0-of-4 from the floor as AMU scored four straight to take a 60-59 lead.
- With the loss, Keiser ends the 2021-22 regular season with an 18-11 (8-8 SUN) record.
- The Seahawks enter the 2022 Sun Conference Women's Basketball Championship as the No. 4 seed.
- With the loss, Keiser drops to 5-6 away from the Student Life Center this season.
- With the loss, Keiser falls to 17-15 all-time against versus the Gyrenes.
- With the loss, Keiser drops to 10-6 all-time versus the Gyrenes in Ave Maria, Florida.
- Chiara De Virgilio scored a team-high 12 points (all from beyond the arc).
- Angela Denis and Julia Fitzwater also added 11 points apiece.
- Denis grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.
- Shykim Gillion led KU with four assists.
- On the glass,the Gyrenes out-rebounded the Seahawks, 39-36.
- Overall, KU shot 36.2 percent from the field and was 8-of-12 from the line (66.7 percent).
- Ties: 4
- Lead Changes: 6
- Largest Lead: Keiser (9); Ave Maria (8)
Keiser
Ave Maria
- Points: Gianna Santacroce (14)
- Rebounds: Lavariah Armstead (8)
- Assists: Casey Humphrey (5)
Keiser hosts the Ave Maria Gyrenes in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Sun Conference Women's Basketball Championships beginning Tuesday, February 22. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
