Women's Basketball Wins Its Third In A Row On Senior Day Against Iowa Wesleyan

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team won its third straight game and moved into the No. 4 slot in the SLIAC standings after defeating Iowa Wesleyan, 67-53.

Prior to the game, the Griffins honored its two seniors Colleen Ahearn and Sarah Schraut for the success they've had on and off the court.

Overall, Fontbonne (12-12; 8-7 SLIAC), shot 40.0 percent from the field and they were paced by Paige Black. The junior guard was in a rhythm right from the get-go, finishing with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting, including draining six 3-pointers.

Mallory Proffer had another strong game off the bench with 14 points, while Rylee Stafford contributed 10.

Iowa Wesleyan (4-18; 4-10 SLIAC), connected on 44.7 percent of its attempts from the floor. The team, though struggled from downtown, going 4-of-21 (19.0 percent), and committed 18 turnovers. Allie Massner paced the Tigers with her 16 points, while Darby Massner added 11 of her own.

In the first quarter, it was back-and-forth play early as the Tigers led 13-10 on Caitlyn Welch's 3-pointer at 6:33. Then, the Griffins took over, rattling off a 14-0 run in less than four minutes to take a 24-13 advantage of Katie Sportsman's bucket.

Iowa Wesleyan, though got the deficit down to under 10 prior to the quarter ending on Josie Zerrusen's basket, but the Griffins still were on top, 25-18.

In the second quarter, Black's 3-pointer at 5:43 gave them some breathing room on the scoreboard, 28-23. Later, Emily Hammel made her lay-up for the Tigers to make it a 35-31 outing and that forced the Griffins coaching staff to take a timeout.

Out of the break, it was all Fontbonne the final three minutes of play, closing out on a 7-1 run, allowing them to head into the locker room on top, 42-32.

In the third, both teams struggled from the floor as they each scored seven points in the 10:00 minutes. However, the Griffins were still able to go into the fourth leading by 10 (49-39).

In the finale, Proffer's bucket at 8:08 gave them a 53-41 lead. Three minutes and change later, Black's 3-pointer and Schraut's lay-up lifted Fontbonne out to a 58-43 lead, forcing the Tigers coaching staff to take a full timeout.

The Griffins were able to maintain that double-digit lead the rest of the way and went on for the 14-point win.

The team returns to action in its season finale next Saturday against Eureka. A win against the Red Devils could propel them into the SLIAC Tournament.

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