Women's Basketball Unable To Overcome Slow Start Against Knox

GALESBURG, Ill.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team had hopes of heading into the holiday break on a three-game winning streak, however, the Knox College Prairie Fire played spoiler with the 77-63 win.

Records: Knox 2-2, Fontbonne 3-4

Game Breakdown

It was a slow start for the Griffins in the first with Knox opening with a 13-0 lead with 5:16 remaining. The Griffins answered with an 8-0 run of its own cutting the deficit to 13-8 on Kya Harbour's 3-pointer.

The Prairie Fire, though shot 68.9 percent from the floor in the first allowing them to extend its lead out to 30-12 after one.

In the second quarter, the Prairie Fire led 41-16 with 4:23 left after Mae Callahan went 1-of-2 from the line. It was all Fontbonne the final four minutes with the team closing out the quarter on a 12-3 run narrowing Knox's lead down to 44-28.

After shooting under 30.0 percent from the floor in the second, the Prairie Fire connected on 43.8 percent of its attempts in the third and outrebounded Fontbonne 11-6, allowing them to own a 62-42 lead heading into the fourth.

In the final quarter, the Griffins got the deficit down to 76-63 on Jillian Venegas' 3-pointer, but the comeback was not to be with Knox going on for the victory.

Team Stats

• Fontbonne shot 35.2 percent from the floor.
• The Griffins shot 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free throw line.
• Knox held a 43-30 rebounding advantage.
• Knox led in the paint scoring 30 points compared to Fontbonne 14.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rylee Stafford recorded her third straight 20-plus point game ending with 22 on 6-of-21 shooting.
• Kourtney White finished with a season-high 21 points on 6-of-16 shooting. She added eight rebounds and five assists.
• Jillian Venegas ended with seven points, five rebounds, and four assists.
• Kya Harbour and Rylee Pickett added five points each.

Up Next

The Griffins will now have some time off before returning to the court on December 4^th when they'll visit Baptist Bible for a 2 p.m., contest.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

Make sure to follow the women's basketball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@fontbonnewbb), Instagram (@fontbonnewbb) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).