Griffins Tie Program Record With 15 Made 3-Pointers In Win Over Marian

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team tied the program-record for most 3-pointers in a game (15) against Marian today as the Griffins routed Marian, 63-39.

"We had another good win today," head coach Maureen Sias said. "We definitely still have many things to improve but we're headed in the right direction."

The original record of 15 3-pointers was set all the way back in 2008 against Lincoln Christian. Today, the Griffins (2-0) got another solid performance out of freshman Riley Guffey as she netted a game-high 17 points for the second straight game.

Paige Black, a St. Louis, Missouri, native, contributed 15 points and six assists, while Raven Venegas sank 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

"Riley (Guffey) and Paige (Black) work well together," added Sias. "They're both threats from the outside so that helps when teams collapse on us."

Not only were the Griffins dominant offensively, the team held Marian (1-2) to a mere 24.5 field goal percentage and forced 21 turnovers.

Brandi Bender led the Sabres with a team-high eight points. Off the bench, the duo of Jenna Moehn and Christina Jagiello contributed seven points each.

In the first quarter, the Griffins opened up with a 10-2 lead on Katie Sportsman's made jumper at the 3:09 mark. The team continued its strong defensive play and that allowed the Griffins to stretch its lead out to 12 (15-3) on Black's made 3-pointer with 52.0 seconds left.

Marian cut it down to 15-6 with 16.0 seconds to go but prior to the quarter ending, Guffey drained her 3-point attempt to give FBU a commanding 18-6 lead.

The impressive play by Fontbonne on both ends of the floor continued into the second quarter, with Marian being unable to get into any type of rhythm.

Black, meanwhile, hit two consecutive 3-pointers in a minute's time to give Fontbonne a 26-10 lead on the scoreboard.

Marian tried to stay within striking distance at 4:59 on Bender's made jumper. On the ensuing possession, however, Rylee Stafford hit a 3-pointer to make it 29-16.

The Griffins rolled on the rest of the way as Guffey's 3-pointer at the buzzer put Fontbonne well out in front at 38-22 going into the break.

Despite upping its field goal percentage in the second quarter to 42.9, Marian was unable to contain the Griffins hot-shooting offense that went 7-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-7 from downtown in the second.

In the third, at 5:50, Colleen Ahearn made her 3-point jumper to stretch the lead out to 44-27. They went on to close out the quarter on an 8-4 run, allowing FBU to head into the fourth on top by 21 (52-31).

In the fourth, Raven Venegas, Sarah Schraut and Stafford all hit 3-pointers to put FBU on a 9-0 run in the first six minutes to give them a 59-31 lead. That lead was more than enough from there with Fontbonne going on for the 24-point win.

"It was a good win today but now we're focused on Monday," Sias said.

The team returns to the court on Monday in its home opener against St. Mary-of-the-Woods. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the women's basketball team.