Griffins Snap Its Three Game Skid With A Win Over Spalding; Black Nets Career-High 23

ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The Fontbonne University women's basketball team snapped its three-game skid on Wednesday night with a 70-67 victory over Spalding University.

The Griffins (4-3; 1-0 SLIAC), ended the evening with a 43.9 field goal percentage. Paige Black led all scorers with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting, including hitting 6 3-pointers which tied her season-high.

Raven Venegas was dominant on both ends of the floor with a season-high 15 points and 10 boards, while Rylee Stafford continued her impactful play off the bench with 11 points.

Spalding (1-5; 0-1 SLIAC), shot 40.3 percent from the field and they were led by Megan Goeing's 15 points off the bench. Lelanda Matthews just missed out on a double-double of 13 points and nine rebounds, while Jenna Thornhill contributed 10 off the bench.

In the first quarter, it was the Golden Eagles taking a 14-6 lead on Tselem Gahagan's made 3-pointer at the 5:48 mark. With 4:52 left, they led 19-9 but back came the Griffins on a 9-0 run over a two minute and 31 second span, capped off by Black's made 3-pointer to cut it down to 19-18.

The two teams battled it out the final two minutes but the Golden Eagles led 24-23 at the end of the first quarter.

Right out of the gate in the second, Fontbonne rattled off a 4-0 run on buckets from Raven Venegas and Sarah Schraut to give them a 27-24 advantage. At 3:03, Thornhill made her jumper for SU and that forced FBU to take a timeout, trailing 30-27.

Out of the timeout, the Griffins answered on Stafford's 3-pointer to tie the game at 30-all and then Schraut's made lay-up gave them a 32-30 lead with 1:25 left.

Later, with 12.0 seconds remaining, Black sank another 3-pointer to make it a 35-33 lead. However, Goeing came down the court for the Golden Eagles and drained the 3-pointer to give SU a 36-35 lead after 20:00 minutes of play.

Fontbonne came out of the locker room determined to get its lead back and with the adjustments they made, the Griffins owned the third quarter. In just four minutes and 57 seconds, the Griffins went on a 16-0 run to take a comfortable 51-36 lead on Black's 3-pointer.

Up 53-41 with 1:51 left, the Golden Eagles didn't give up despite the deficit and they closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run of its own to get right back in it at 53-47 heading into the fourth.

At 4:24, Thornhill cut the lead down to 58-54 on her made lay-up. On the ensuing possession though, Schraut hit her jumper to give FBU its six-point lead back (60-54).

Timely buckets and made free throws were key for the Griffins the final four minutes of play as they fended off the pesky Golden Eagles, 70-67.

Fontbonne looks to build off this win and carry it into Saturday's match-up against Blackburn. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 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.