Women's Basketball Drops SLIAC Opener Against Principia

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team opened SLIAC action tonight with a tough 72-66 loss against Principia. The Griffins drop to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the SLIAC. Principia improves to 6-3 and 1-0 in the SLIAC. 

Fontbonne had three players in double-figures led by newcomer Mallory Ronshausen scoring 15 points off the bench. Kourtney White was busy putting up 12 points and grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds. Madison Nelson went 4-of-8 from the floor for 11 points and six boards. 

Both teams had its early struggles from the floor, but the Panthers led 10-4 at the 4:51 mark on Carolina Rojas' layup.

Fontbonne trimmed the deficit to 13-9 on Amaya Earls' 3-pointer, but Principia held its lead the rest of the quarter leading 15-9 after one. 

In the second, the Panthers opened the first three minutes on a 10-2 run with Taylor Brown's 3-pointer giving them a 25-11 lead.

Principia maintained its double-digit advantage as they headed into the locker room on top, 33-21. 

At 8:15 in the third, the Griffins trailed 42-25. Fontbonne started to chip away at the deficit outscoring the Panthers 20-5 over the next four minutes with Ja'mise Bailey's layup putting Fontbonne down, 47-45. 

Principia tried to gain the necessary breathing room leading 52-45 with just under a minute left, but a 3-pointer from Ronshausen and a layup from Bailey had the Griffins down 52-50 going into the fourth. 

Fontbonne was on fire throughout the third going 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the floor and 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from downtown.

In the fourth, the Griffins took a 55-54 lead with 9:04 remaining on Kya Harbour's layup. The Panthers regained the advantage, however, the Griffins kept battling with Ronshausen connecting on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left making it a 65-64 game. 

Principia, though closed out the game on a 7-2 run going on for the six-point victory. 

Fontbonne shot 36.5 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers. Principia ended the night shooting 37.0 percent from the floor and held a 47-41 advantage on the glass.

Up Next

The Griffins are back in action on Saturday when they'll visit rival Webster. Tip-off at 1 p.m.

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