Griffins Dealt Tough Road Loss Against Spalding

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team dropped a tough 12-point road outing against Spalding on Saturday, 69-57.

The Griffins, (8-10; 4-5 SLIAC), shot 35.1 percent from the floor, but Spalding (6-10; 4-4 SLIAC) controlled the glass with a 47-25 advantage.

Paige Black led all scorers with her game-high 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting. She also tied Raven Venegas in rebounds (six) and added a game-high five steals.

Rylee Stafford shot 50.0 percent (6-of-12) to finish with 14 points off the bench, while Raven Venegas contributed 10 points and six rebounds of her own.

Spalding, meanwhile, saw each player that entered the game register at least one point. Alex Martin guided the Golden Eagles with a team-high 16 points and nine boards. Lelanda Matthews also added nine rebounds and 11 points.

It was a slow start for the Griffins in the first as Spalding opened with a 10-2 lead on Jenna Thornhill's lay-up. However, the Griffins offense got going and trimmed the deficit down to 19-15 after one quarter of play on Black's 3-pointer.

In the second, Fontbonne stayed within striking distance as Stafford's 3-pointer made it a 23-18 outing at 7:11. Over the next six minutes, the Griffins went on an 8-3 run to tie the game up at 26-26 on Black's bucket.

The Golden Eagles got the lead back on the next possession and stretched it out to five (31-26), but Black's 3-pointer with 23.0 seconds left made it 31-29 at the break.

Guffey's 3-pointer at 7:35 of the third quarter cut the Golden Eagles lead down to 33-32. Spalding, responded with a 7-0 run in three minutes and 20 seconds time to take a 40-32 advantage. SU kept the Griffins at arm's length and went in the fourth on top by nine (48-39).

Neither offense started out well in the fourth, until Alex Martin made the first basket at 7:18 (50-39). Then, after Guffey's free throws, the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run to expand its lead out to 17 (58-41) and that forced the coaching staff to take a timeout.

At 2:46, the Golden Eagles led 64-45, but the Griffins rattled off a 12-1 run to put them down just 65-57 with 51.0 seconds left. That'd be as close as they'd get, though with Spalding hanging on for the 12-point win.

The Griffins look to bounce back on the road next Wednesday night when they'll visit Blackburn. Tip-off at 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.