Women's basketball rolls over Greenville in huge conference victory

St. Louis, Mo. - It was a big time game for Fontbonne women's basketball tonight as they continue their hunt for a SLIAC Tournament spot and boy did they deliver. 

Fontbonne jumped out to a 23-4 first-quarter advantage. All four of Greenville's points were from the free throw line and only began after the Griffins held a 7-0 lead. Fontbonne then secured 11 unanswered points and held a 20-point lead just before the buzzer. 

Greenville clipped that lead to 16 but not before senior point guard Emmie Haring notched yet another record-breaking moment. The Ballwin native slipped a pass from the top of the key down to the right block where freshman Raven Venegas secured the layup. The assist broke the SLIAC's career assist record of 541 assists set back in 1994 by Blackburn's Lisa Pliskin. Haring would finish with six assists on the night for a total of 546 career assists with at least four games left in the season. 

The Griffins led 30-14 and closed out the first half on a 17-3 run. In fourth quarter, the young Griffins kept throwing up three pointers instead of managing the clock, which allowed Greenville to out-score them 11-8. 

Fontbonne improves to 11-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play. Greenville is now 13-8 and 8-4. This year the conference standings on the women's side should be down to the wire as indicated below.

Leading the way for Fontbonne is scoring was Venegas with a career-high 20 points, three rebounds and two steals as she nailed 10 of her 13 field goal attempts. Haring finished with 19 points including three treys, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals while Kaitlynn Walker notched 16 points, eight rebounds and five steals. 

The Griffins' 47.6% accuracy in the field is their fourth highest of the year. Fontbonne scored 38 points in the paint compared to Greenville's 14 while the Griffins turned the ball over 14 times to the Panthers' 26. It's also the third fewest points the Griffins have allowed all year and the lowest number of points scored by the Panthers all season.

Fontbonne hosts Eureka College in another big game this Saturday. Having lost by just three points on the road to the only team undefeated in conference play is big motivation for the scheduled 1 p.m. contest in the Dunham Student Activity Center. 

SLIAC Standings after tonight's games: