Women's Basketball Unable To Overcome First Quarter Deficit Against Eureka

EUREKA, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team tried to erase its 14-point first quarter deficit, but the Red Devils fended off the Griffins for the 76-65 win.

The Griffins (10-13; 6-8 SLIAC, shot 28.8 percent from the floor. Paige Black led Fontbonne with a team-high 15 points and went 8-of-8 from the line. She also registered four steals which gives her 87 on the season and that ranks her third all-time.

Raven Venegas nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine boards, while Rylee Stafford finished with 10.

Eureka (12-10; 6-7 SLIAC), ended the afternoon with a 49.1 field goal percentage, went 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) from the line and outrebounded Fontbonne 44-33.

Josie Morgan led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, while Ashley Harfst had herself a game on both ends of the floor with 17 points and a game-high 15 boards. Olivia Falls (13) and Kennedy Dura (10), each reached the double-digit plateau.

It was a tough first quarter for Fontbonne with the team going 2-of-18 from the field and 0-of-11 from downtown. The Red Devils opened with a 19-1 lead and owned a 21-7 lead after one quarter of play.

In the second, the Re Devils expanded its lead out to 34-14 on Harfst's bucket at the 3:23 mark. They maintained its double-digit lead the rest of the way and went into the locker room on top, 40-25.

In the third quarter, the Griffins trimmed the deficit down to 42-29 on Black's bucket. Despite the team shooting a 42.1 field goal percentage in the third, the Red Devils were leading 64-47 after Madison Boaz hit her 3-pointer for Fontbonne with 18.0 seconds remaining.

In the fourth, though the Griffins opened on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes and 22 seconds to make it a 66-56 outing after Sarah Schraut hit her jumper.

Eureka answered right back with an 8-1 run of its own over the next two minutes to put the lead back out to 74-57. The Griffins trimmed the lead down to 74-65, but that'd be as close as they'd get with the Red Devils hanging on for the win.

Fontbonne returns to action on Wednesday night when they'll travel to Iowa Wesleyan. Tip-off at 5:30 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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