ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team traveled to St. Louis to face the Griffins of Fontbonne Univeristy in their 3rd conference match-up of the new year.  Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start offensively, each scoring just a few buckets in the first 5 minutes.  In fact, the two teams traded baskets for most of the 1st half, with Principia keeping Fontbonne always in their sights, down just 4-6 points at a time.  Solid offensive play from sophomore forward Karina Olsen was a big factor in keeping Principia in the game, with several offensive rebounds and a sweet jumper from the elbow.  In fact, Principia hit the offensive glass hard as a team, and snagged almost as many O boards as they did defensive boards.  The battle continued, with Principia playing solid defense but unable to keep Fontbonne off the glass (the Griffins had 25 offensive rebounds resulting in 26 second chance points), and the Panthers headed into the locker room at half time down 9 points.

The second half saw increased intensity by the Panthers, as well as renewed efforts at offensive execution (this was one of the best offensive games Principia has played so far).  Sparked in part by sophomore forward Tory Silver coming off the bench (5 points, 2 boards and was 50% from the field) Principia cut back into the Fontbonne score, and started to make a run at the lead.  The Panthers had cut the lead to five, when disaster struck.  Both sophomore forwards Jessica Bushong and Karina Olsen fouled out with about 12 minutes left in the game, and with no subs left, Principia had to finish out the game with just four players.  Both Olsen and Bushong had been leading the efforts on the glass (they finished with 10 and 7 respectively before fouling out) and having to play down a man proved too much for the Panthers to overcome.  Fontbonne continued to press for several minutes once the Panthers were playing down a man, and eventually widened their lead to about 20.  With a final score of 54 to 72, Fontbonne logged the victory, but Principia played the best game of their conference season, stymied only by the lack of man power.

It was truly inspiring to watch the Lady Panthers battle in this game.  Cohesive team defense and much improved offensive execution (the Panthers put up the highest score of their conference season thus far) made this a solid game, and it is a shame that fouls had to dictate the outcome.  But never for a minute did the Panthers drop their heads or show frustration.  Instead, they played with heart 'til the final buzzer, and continued to show improvement for the full 40 minutes.  Noteworthy statistical contributions were Karina Olsen with her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.  Jessica Bushong logged 4 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks in her limited minutes.  Sophomore captain Becca DeNicholas was a huge spark on defense, as well as a solid contributor from the field (she ended with 8 points, 6 boards and 3 steals).  And leading the efforts once again was senior captain Sarah Corbitt who ended the night with 27 points, 3 boards and a season high 8 steals.

The Panthers play next on Saturday, January 12th at home against the Westminster Blue Jays.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.