Spalding Fends Off Griffins Second Half Run

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team dropped a tough 65-60 outing against Spalding on Saturday to close out its 2018-19 season. Prior to the game started, the team honored Paige Black on Senior Day.

Score: Spalding 65, Fontbonne 60

Where: St. Louis, Mo. (DSAC)

Records: Spalding (19-6; 14-2 SLIAC), Fontbonne (11-14; 7-9 SLIAC)

How It Happened

In the first, the Griffins started out cold going 3-of-10 from the floor and with Spalding shooting 50.0 percent from the floor, the Golden Eagles grabbed a 19-9 lead after 10:00 minutes of action.

In the second, in just one minute and 20 seconds, the Griffins went on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit down to 21-16 on Rylee Stafford's 3-pointer.

Later, Fontbonne trailed 26-20, but five consecutive points from Stafford in 25.0 seconds put the Griffins down 26-25 with 4:27 remaining. However, the Golden Eagles closed out the half on an 8-2 run to own a 34-27 lead at the break.

In the third, neither team shot over 28.0 percent from the floor, but the Griffins controlled the glass with a 14-8 advantage. At 7:43, two consecutive free throws from Hunter Wright gave Spalding a 36-31 lead.

From there, though the Griffins rattled off a 6-0 run over the next minute and 32 seconds to take a 37-36 advantage on Raven Venegas' layup. The two teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way and were all tied up at 44-44 heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, the Griffins forced a couple steals that turned into quick baskets to give them a 48-44 lead. Spalding went on to regain the advantage and stretch it out to 59-51 with 3:10 left on Megan Goeing's bucket.

The Griffins, though kept battling as a 7-0 run in one minute and 28 seconds put them down just 59-58 on Black's layup. Spalding never relinquished the lead despite the Griffins efforts and went on for the five-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne shot 30.6 percent from the floor but had its struggles from downtown going 4-of-26 (15.4 percent).
• Spalding connected on 41.3 percent of its attempts and outrebounded Fontbonne, 42-39.
• Fontbonne totaled 22 points on Spalding's turnovers.
• The Golden Eagles had a 32-22 advantage in the paint.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Stafford led all scorers with a game-high 24 points on 5-of-14 shooting. She also went 11-of-12 from the line.
• Black, meanwhile, had 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. She ends the 2018-19 season with 100 steals to become just the second player all-time to accumulate at least 100 steals in a season.

Spalding Leaders

• Wright led Spalding with a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds.
• Alex Martin went 5-of-13 to finish with 13 points and tied Wright with seven boards.
• Tse Gahagan and Megan Goeing finished with 10 points each.

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

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