Resilient Griffins fall to Illinois College on Opening Night

Jacksonville, Ill. - Fontbonne University women's basketball and new head coach Maureen Sias begin the 2014-15 season with a loss at Illinois College. The Griffins fell to the Lady Blues 70-73.

Fontbonne trailed 6-23 in the first half before finding their groove, going on a 17-1 run to trail 23-24 with seven minutes left in the first half. Both teams were neck and neck after that, with Fontbonne trailing by three at halftime (36-39). Illinois College went on a scoring surge increasing their lead out of the gate, leading 70-58 with four minutes left in the game. Fontbonne ramped up their defense forcing turnovers and fouls, allowing the Griffis to chip away and pull to within five points of the Lady Blues with 1:35 left in the game. Chelsy Gibson scored on a layup as the Griffins trailed by two with just 44 seconds to play. Illinois College traveled with 18 seconds left, allowing Fontbonne the opportunity to tie the game. The Griffins failed to convert on a heavily guarded layup, resulting in the loss. Fontbonne shot just 28% in the field during the second half.

Junior Griffin Erika Kuhn went 14-18 from the charity stripe and totaled a team-high 18 points on the night. Kuhn recorded her first double-double of her collegiate career adding 10 rebounds on the night. The Griffins received some major plays both offensively and defensively by sophomore Chelsy Gibson. Gibson scored 10 points in the first half and ended the game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. The Griffins, with their new physical presence on defense, received plenty of help down low from senior Kristin Dempsey and sophomore Olivia Hollander who made the Lady Blues work hard for those close buckets. Emmie Haring's ball handling aided Fontbonne's comeback attempt as she recorded four assists and four steals to go along with her five rebounds and five points. As a team, the Griffins recorded 22 turnovers to the Lady Blues 30 turnovers.

For Illinois College, All-American Hannah McGinnis was the biggest threat, dominating with a double-double on the night, scoring 22 points, 17 rebounds and 4 steals.

Fontbonne travels to St. Mary of the Woods College (Indiana) to take on the Pomeroys this Saturday at 1pm. The Griffins' home opener is Saturday, November 29th at 3pm against Knox College.