ELSAH, ILL. -- Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team faced the Griffins of Fontbonne University.  Despite an enthusiastic warm-up, Prin found itself in an early hole, down 20-2 due to turnovers and defensive breakdowns.  However, Prin rallied and found its offensive rhythm due in part to junior point guard Dani Carney and freshman Torie DeNicholas hitting some key buckets.  Principia also took a stand on defense, supporting their scoring run and frustrating the Fontbonne offense.  Prin cut the lead to 2, but Fontbonne finished out the first half with back-to-back buckets putting them up 34-28 at half time.
    The 2nd half saw a similar slow start, with Fontbonne gaining back a 14 point lead in the first minute before Principia found its bearings again.  There were certainly flashes of solid play from Principia and once again there was improvement in several areas.  But the scoring lapses proved too large to surmount.  The final score of 44-67 was indicative of offensive inconsistency of Principia, but the Lady Panthers certainly worked hard until the final buzzer.  The Panthers were led by Torie DeNicholas with a game high 16 points and a game high 8 boards, as well as senior captains Lindsay Sydness with 11 points, 6 boards and 6 blocks.  The Panthers play next against the Eurkea College Red Devils at home on Saturday, January 21st.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.