Second Half Surge Lifts Women's Basketball Past Iowa Wesleyan

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa.—After trailing by seven at halftime, the Fontbonne University women's basketball team outscored Iowa Wesleyan 41-24 en route to the 71-61 win.

Final: Fontbonne 71, Iowa Wesleyan 61

How It Happened

After Rylee Stafford made her layup at 5:52 to tie the game 8-8, the Tigers went on a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to lead 17-9. The Tigers held onto its lead the rest of the way leading 19-14 after a quarter of play.

In the second, the Tigers extend its advantage out to 33-22 on Anija Simmons made jumper with 5:01 remaining. The Griffins got the deficit down to five on a couple of different occasions, but the Tigers still led 37-30 at halftime.

In the third, the Griffins came out on a 10-0 surge with Riley Guffey connecting on her 3-pointer to give them a 40-37 lead with 5:42 left. They never relinquished its lead the rest of the way to own a 51-45 advantage going into the fourth.

Fontbonne shot 38.1 percent from the floor in the third, including going 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from downtown. The Tigers had its struggles going 3-of-12 (25.0 percent) from the floor and committed six turnovers.

In the fourth, the Griffins gained some breathing room at 4:59 with Kya Harbour draining her 3-poitner to make it a 61-53 contest. It was all Fontbonne the rest of the way cruising to the 10-point victory.

Head-to-Head

• Fontbonne tied its season-high shooting 42.3 percent from the field.
• On the glass, they set a new season-high with 41 rebounds, while tying its season-high in both assists (12) and steals (11).
• Iowa Wesleyan shot 44.4 percent from the floor and made eight 3-pointers.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rylee Stafford led with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-22 shooting. She moved up to fifth all-time with 1,136 career points at Fontbonne surpassing Callie Collier 1,131 (2007-11).
• Kourtney White returned to the line going 8-of-14 totaling 16 points and dished out a career-high nine assists.
• Haley Buscher came off the bench for eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.
• Rylee Pickett added seven points.

Up Next

The Griffins return to action on the road Tuesday when they'll take on Eureka. 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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