Women's Basketball 10-Game Win Streak Gets Snapped, Clinches Spot In SLIAC Tournament For First Time Since 2016-17

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University women's basketball team saw its 10-game win streak get snapped on Saturday after a tough 79-75 defeat against Westminster. Despite the loss, the Griffins have locked up a spot in the SLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2016-17. Prior to the game, the team honored its two seniors Raven Venegas and Mallory Proffer.

Final: Westminster 79, Fontbonne 74

Location: DSAC

Records: Westminster (11-12; 10-6 SLIAC), Fontbonne (14-9; 13-3 SLIAC)

How It Happened

The Griffins came out with a lot of energy on both ends of the floor in the first as they opened with a 9-0 lead on Jillian Venegas' layup at 7:48.

Later, at 1:54, a 3-pointer from Rylee Stafford extended the advantage out to 20-10. The team held that 10-point lead the rest of the way to own a 22-12 lead after one. The Griffins shot 47.4 percent from the floor and forced seven Blue Jays turnovers.

In the second quarter, the Griffins continued to hold onto its lead with Raven Venegas giving Fontbonne a 36-28 lead with 3:53 remaining. However, an 8-0 run by the Blue Jays evened it up, 36-36, on Mikalyn Callahan's made jumper with 27.0 seconds left. Prior to the quarter ending, though Raven Venegas made her layup to give Fontbonne the two-point lead at the break.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the quarter with Westminster going 7-of-11 (63.6 percent), while Fontbonne shot 53.3 percent.

In the third, Kourtney White's layup gave them a 48-44 lead with 5:50 to go. The Griffins tried to gain some breathing room as Rylee Stafford drained her 3-pointer go extend the advantage out to 54-48.

After Raven Venegas went 1-of-2 from the line, the Griffins were on top, 57-54, with 51.0 seconds on the clock. The Blue Jays, however, got a late bucket from Abbie Reece to trim the deficit down to 57-56 going into the fourth.

In the fourth, the Blue Jays went on a 4-0 run to lead 60-57 on Abbie Reece's layup. Fontbonne took the 62-60 advantage back with 7:04 remaining on Mallory Proffer's 3-pointer.

Westminster regained the 67-65 lead on Mikalyn Callahan's layup with 5:39 left in regulation. Despite the Griffins getting the lead down to three on a couple occasions, the Blue Jays fended off Fontbonne for the win.

Inside The Numbers

• Fontbonne shot 44.6 percent from the field but went just 8-of-32 from downtown.
• The Griffins outrebounded Westminster 31-30. The team controlled the paint with a 40-26 advantage.
• Westminster shot 45.5 percent from the floor and went 22-of-26 from the line compared to Fontbonne getting to the line 11 times.

Westminster Leaders

• Mikalyn Callahan and Reese Arnold tied with 22 points each. Callahan pulled down a game-high 10 boards for the double-double.
• Kallee Dowler went 6-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-11 from downtown to end with 21 points.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Rylee Stafford finished with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-18 shooting. She's now at 992 career points and needs just eight more to join the 1,000 career point club.
• Raven Venegas had a strong game with a season-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting. She's up to 985 career points and will need 15 more to reach 1,000 career points.
• Jillian Venegas was the final player in double-figures with 13.

Up Next

The Griffins return to action on Wednesday when they'll play its final home game of the regular season against 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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