Paige Black's Career-High 29 Points Leads Griffins Past MacMurray

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—Behind Paige Black's career-high 29 points, the Fontbonne University women's basketball team got back to the .500 mark in conference play with an 81-61 victory over MacMurray.

After shooting under 20.0 percent from 3-point the last two games, the Griffins (7-8; 3-3 SLIAC) got back on the right track against the Highlanders going 10-of-24 (41.7 percent). Overall the team shot 47.7 from the field and its defense had another strong outing forcing 27 turnovers.

Black, a St. Louis, Missouri, native, was on fire throughout the day going 9-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-10 from downtown. Mallory Proffer provided a spark off the bench with her season-high 14 points, while Riley Guffey came away with 11 on 5-of-8 shooting.

MacMurray (3-12; 1-4 SLIAC), shot just 38.6 percent and they were paced by Aleysia Mason-Pavia and Shelby Fink as they netted 14 points each. Emily Kolo contributed 12 points and seven boards. Sheyanne Glorfield was the final player in double-figures, netting 10.

It was back-and-forth play early in the first but the Griffins grabbed a 10-6 lead on Black's two made free throws at 5:09. Three minutes later, the team stretched it out to a 16-9 advantage on Proffer's bucket and they went on to maintain its marginal lead at 18-13 after one.

In the second quarter, the Highlanders cut it down to 23-19 at the 7:37 mark. However, the Griffins kept its composure and got thelead out to double-digits (32-22) on Black's 3-pointer with 4:09 left. Despite shooting 55.6 percent in the second quarter, the Highlanders headed into the locker room trailing by nine (36-27).

The Griffins made adjustments during the break and came out in the second half in dominant fashion on both ends of the floor. They outscored MacMurray 25-12, went on an 11-0 run in four minutes, shot 69.2 percent from the floor and forced eight turnovers which gave them a commanding 61-39 lead going into the fourth.

The Highlanders shot an improved 40.1 percent in the final quarter but the Griffins controlled it the rest of the way, shooting 42.1 percent and forced six more turnovers to come away with the 20-point win.

The team returns to the court on Wednesday night when they'll pay a visit to Iowa Wesleyan. 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.