Women's Basketball Ready To Reach New Heights In 2017-18

ST. LOUIS, Mo.— After a successful 2016-17 season, the Fontbonne University women's basketball team are ready to build off that and reach new heights in 2017-18.

Fontbonne is coming off a 13-13 (9-7 SLIAC) record in 2016-17. The overall wins and conference wins are both its highest since the 2011-2012 season.

The team advanced to the SLIAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and went toe-to-toe with No. 1 Eureka. Despite its efforts, the Red Devils went on for the 86-55 win, ending the Griffins campaign.

At the end of the season, Emmie Haring was named Co-Player of the Year, becoming the sixth Griffin in history to win the award. Raven Venegas had a standout freshman season and was named Newcomer of the Year after averaging 9.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

"Last year was a good season," said head coach Maureen Sias. "We saw progress from the years past which is always nice to see. The ultimate goal is to build the program back up, so last year getting back to the conference tournament was definitely in the right direction."

This season, the Griffins were picked No. 6 in the SLIAC Preseason Poll and they've got their eyes set on climbing up those standings. The team brings back 11 players, including, Kaitlynn Walker and Venegas.

Walker, a Ladue, Missouri, native, led Fontbonne in minutes per game (30.6) and points per game (12.3). Along with Venegas, another player looking to step up is senior Sarah Schraut.

The St. Louis, Missouri, native, had a career-year where she averaged 7.2 points and shot 53.5 percent from the field.

Newcomers Christina Overstreet, Rylee Stafford, Riley Guffey and Jillian Venegas will also look to step up during the 2017-18 season and guide FBU to its second straight SLIAC Tournament appearance.

"I have high expectations for this team," said Sias. "Our goal is to get back to the conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament. We still have lots of work to do to get there but we see progress every day so that's exciting."

The team gets its season underway on November 14^th in an exhibition outing against NCAA Division II, Lindenwood University. Its first official game will take place on Friday, November 17^th, at Robert Morris-Springfield.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the women's basketball team.