MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Head Coach Jessica Garriga picked up her first career win as the Lady Crusaders defeated Ave Maria 73-56 Friday afternoon.
 
"Feels good to get our first win," said Garriga. "That was a hard-fought battle. Ave Maria applied full court pressure for the entire game. They sped us up a little bit more than I would have liked at times but eventually we were able to compose ourselves and execute. Proud of the ladies for being gritty and willing their way to a win."
 
Leah Sutton opened the scoring with a layup. After a pair of free throws by Jenna Garriga, an Addyson Sherer layup put WCU up 6-0 midway through the first quarter. The Lady Crusaders extended their lead to ten after six minutes of play, but the Gyrenes offense found their footing and closed the gap to 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
 
After trading baskets to open the second quarter, there was a bit of a break on the offensive end for both teams until a pair of free throws by Sutton got the WCU offense rolling again. Corpuz followed with a layup and made the and one to stretch the Carey lead to 26-15 with seven minutes remaining.
 
Over the next few minutes, the Lady Crusaders maintained the double-digit lead until Ave Maria cut the deficit to 30-22 with three minutes remaining. The Gyrenes kept up the pressure, but Carey answered, closing the quarter on a 9-3 run to take a 14-point lead into the break.
 
Out of the break both teams again traded baskets. With WCU leading 43-29 after two minutes of play, it was the AMU offense that got hot with the defense picking up the pressure as well. For the next five minutes the Lady Crusaders were held to just one point while the Gyrenes closed the gap to five at 46-41 with three minutes remaining. A layup by Sherer broke the drought for Carey and over the final minutes of the quarter WCU pushed their lead to nine, taking a 52-46 lead into the final quarter.
 
After almost two minutes had passed without a basket it was Sutton with a layup to get the Lady Crusaders going. Corpus followed with a layup to make it 56-46 WCU and again almost two minutes passed before another basket was made, this time by Garriga for WCU. Four minutes in total passed for the Gyrenes before they put points on the board. By then Carey had things well in hand, closing on a 15-8 run to put the game away.
 
Shaneal Corpuz led the offense with 20 points and eight rebounds. Leah Sutton added 14 points with Jenna Garriga finishing with 10 points.
 
Carey is back in action tomorrow, as they take on Montreat College. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.