Women's Basketball Falls Short In Comeback Attempt Against Spalding In The SLIAC Semifinals

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The No. 2-seeded Fontbonne University women's basketball team dropped an 84-74 heartbreaker against No. 3-seeded Spalding on Friday night to conclude its 2019-20 season.

Final: Spalding 84, Fontbonne 74

Location: Webster University

Records: Spalding (16-10; 13-5 SLIAC), Fontbonne (16-10; 15-3 SLIAC)

How It Happened

The Griffins wasted no time out of the gate taking a 3-0 on Rylee Stafford's 3-pointer just 3.0 seconds in. With that 3-pointer Stafford became the single-season leader at Fontbonne with 77 3-pointers. She breaks the previous mark of 76 held by Laurie Kralemann (1995-96).

Later in the quarter, the Griffins led 13-11 on Mallory Proffer's 3-pointer at the 3:22 mark. With 46.0 seconds left, the Griffins grabbed an 18-16 lead on Riley Guffey's 3-pointer, however, the Golden Eagles tied it late on Hunter Wright's layup to make it 18-18 after one.

In the second quarter, the Golden Eagles opened with a 10-4 run in the first two minutes and 45 seconds to lead, 28-22.

Fontbonne continued to chip away at the deficit as Spalding led by just three (34-31) with 2:26 remaining. The Griffins, though dominated the final two minutes going on a 7-0 run as Stafford's 3-point player gave them the 38-34 advantage at the break.

In the third, the back-and-forth play continued but Guffey's 3-pointer at the 3:02 mark gave Fontbonne a 49-46 lead. Like Fontbonne in the second, the Golden Eagles answered in the final minutes closing out on an 8-2 run with Hannah Renfro's 3-pointer at the buzzer giving them a 54-51 advantage.

In the fourth, a 3-pointer from Stafford trimmed the Golden Eagles lead down to 58-56. Spalding never let go of its lead with Kailey Reed's bucket at 2:26 stretching the advantage out to 10 (72-62). Fontbonne got it down to six a minute later on Raven Venegas' jumper but that'd be as close as they'd get with Spalding hanging on for the win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne shot 48.3 percent from the floor and went 9-of-9 from the line.
• Spalding outrebounded Fontbonne 35-24.
• Spalding shot 50.0 percent from the field and made it count from the line going 21-of-22 (95.5 percent).

Spalding Leaders

• Maleah Hirn tied for a game-high with 19 points, including going 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
• Hannah Renfro added 16 points and seven boards off the bench.
• Allison Just (14), Hunter Wright (12), and Megan Goeing (11) all reached double-figures.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rylee Stafford tied the game-high with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
• Raven Venegas finished with 16 points, while both Mallory Proffer and Riley Guffey concluded with 10 points each.

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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