Second Quarter Struggles Sink Fontbonne Against Spalding

LOUISVILLE, Ky.—After leading by six after one quarter of play, the Fontbonne University women's basketball team struggled from the floor in the second quarter, allowing the Spalding Golden Eagles to lead by 12 at the half and go on for the 31-point win.

Final: Spalding 80, Fontbonne 49

Location: Louisville, Ky.

Records: Spalding (6-6; 4-1 SLIAC), Fontbonne (4-8; 3-2 SLIAC)

How It Happened

The Griffins started out on a roll with a 13-5 lead on Mallory Proffer's layup. After a 3-pointer from Spalding, the Griffins went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes and 13 seconds to lead 20-8 on Riley Guffey's made jumper.

However, the Golden Eagles closed out the quarter with a 6-0 run of its own to trim the deficit down to 20-14. Fontbonne shot 57.1 percent from the floor, including going 4-of-5 from downtown. Rylee Stafford led the floor with 11 points. Spalding concluded with a 50.0 field goal percentage.

Spalding scored the next four points to start the second, though Raven Venegas broke the run with a made jumper at 7:20 to make it a 22-18 contest. It was all Spalding the rest of the way with the Golden Eagles finishing out the quarter on a 16-2 run to lead 36-24 at the break.

The Golden Eagles connected on 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) of its shots, while Fontbonne was limited to a 16.7 field goal percentage.

In the third, Mallory Proffer made her layup to put Fontbonne down 39-28 with 7:27 remaining. Over the next four minutes and change, the Golden Eagles went on a 13-2 run to stretch its advantage out to 52-30. They maintained its 20-plus point lead the rest of the way to lead 58-35 heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, the Golden Eagles shot 45.0 percent from the floor and outscored Fontbonne 22-14 en route to the 31-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne was limited to a 34.6 field goal percentage but did connect on 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from beyond-the-arc.
• Spalding ended with a 51.6 field goal percentage.
• On the glass, they outrebounded Fontbonne 37-27.
• The Golden Eagles accounted for 36 points in the paint and its bench outscored Fontbonne, 22-11.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rylee Stafford registered a game-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
• Jillian Venegas added six points and five rebounds.

Spalding Leaders

• Hunter Wright led with a team-high 19 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
• Megan Goeing added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
• All 11 players for Spalding contributed at least two points.

Up Next

The Griffins return home for another tough contest on Saturday when they'll take on Eureka. Tip-off at 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.

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