AVE MARIA, Fla.--Senior Jade Faris led Lawrence Tech with a career- and game-high 23 points, and the Blue Devils defense did the rest in the final 2 minutes, as the LTU women's basketball team held off Saint Mary of the Woods College, 72-66, in the opener of the Ave Maria Christmas Classic on Thursday at Donahue Gymnasium. The Blue Devils have won back-to-back outings to improve to 5-7 on the season, while the Pomeroys fall to 7-4 overall.

Lawrence Tech Highlights

• Faris made 7 of 12 field goal attempts and missed just one free throw in 10 tries. She also led the team with nine rebounds.
• Classmate Dominique Evans (8 points, 2 rebounds) led the team with four assists.
• Fifth-year senior Julia Huey scored 14 points off the bench, making 5 of 7 from the field (4-6 3FGs) and blocking two shots.
• Senior Addie Nagel chipped in 11 points on 3 for 5 field goal shooting and 4-of-6 from the free throw line, with three rebounds.

Saint Mary of the Woods Highlights

• Brooklynn Jones led SMWC with 18 points on 8-of-15 field goal shooting and she had eight rebounds.
• Madison Fueger recorded a double-double with 15 points (6-10 FGs) and game-high 14 rebounds, plus three steals to lead all student-athletes.
• Irye Gomez contributed 12 points, and Abby Worley (6 points, 3 rebounds) led all playmakers with five assists.

How it Happened 

• Lawrence Tech, which led by as many as 11 points on several occasions, did not trail after the first quarter.
• The Blue Devils held the Pomeroys scoreless for the final 1 minute and 55 seconds, as SMWC missed three shots and had two turnovers in its last five possessions. 
• Faris made two free throws to give LTU a 65-55 lead with 5:41 to go in the contest before SMWC cut the deficit to four points three times--the last instance at 70-66 when Jones hit a jumper.
• Lawrence Tech grabbed its first 11-point lead, 22-11, after Nagel banked in a 3ball from the right wing to end the first stanza. 
• The Blue Devils also held leads of 41-33 at halftime and 53-44 at the end of the third quarter.
• Fueger made a couple layups to hand SMWC an early 4-0 lead. The Pomeroys took their final lead on a Gomez trey to make it 9-7 at the 5:50 mark of the first quarter.
• But the Blue Devils took command by going on a 15-2 run to close it.
• There were three ties and five lead changes--all in the opening quarter.
• The Blue Devils outscored the SMWC bench 18-9. The Pomeroys made 15 points off 10 Blue Devils turnovers. 

Beyond the Boxscore

• Today marked the first-ever meeting between the schools as well as the inaugural game in the Ave Maria Christmas Classic.
• Lawrence Tech is 2-0 this season on a neutral court.
• SMWC is a member of the NAIA-affiliated River States Conference in which it has a 3-0 conference record.
• Huey is 7-for-her-last-14 three-point field goal attempts, or 50 percent.
• In 12 games, LTU has allowed just one opponent to shoot 50 percent or better from the field in 2023-24.

Up Next

• The Blue Devils will conclude the Classic in the Sunshine State at 2 p.m. Friday against the host AMU Gyrenes, serving as the team's final game of 2023.