COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women was unable to create some breathing room in its efforts to secure a spot in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament with a 65-63 loss at home to Fontbonne University. Instead of the Owls (5-11, 4-8 SLIAC) generating some separation, the setback allowed the Griffins (4-15, 4-8 SLIAC) to pull into a tie with MUW for the sixth – and final – berth, with six games remaining.
 
The W once again saw a creditable first half effort go down the proverbial drain because of its inability to close out a foe in the final 20 minutes.  The Owls led at halftime, 32-22, and had their largest lead of the afternoon – 14 points (41-27) – with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
 
But from that juncture, the Griffins closed the stanza on an 18-9 run that sliced The W's advantage to five points, 50-45. In the final quarter, with FBU out-scoring The W 20-13, Fontbonne eventually overtook the Owls for good with 3:39 left in the contest. Even after that, MUW still had two looks at potential tying or go-ahead baskets in the final 15 seconds, but could convert neither in dropping its fifth-straight game.
 
Junior Conley Langford led all scorers with 19 points for MUW. The Griffins' defense caused Langford to struggle from the floor, going an uncharacteristic 4-of-13, but she more than made up for it by draining 9-of-10 free throw tries. She also had eight rebounds and four assists.
 
Teammate Zoe Essary was close behind with 18 points of her own, converting 6-of-12 field goals and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Essary also notched eight boards and four assists on her ledger for the day.
 
Freshman Darby Pitts came off of the Owls' bench to chip in 15 points. Pitts was 4-of-7 from the floor, with a pair of treys, as well. She went a solid 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.
 
Claire Leak led all rebounds with 10 caroms. Leak finished with six points.
 
The W committed 20 turnovers, which were parlayed into 21 points by the Griffins. MUW once again found offensive rebounds at a premium – 15-to-7 – which allowed Fontbonne to tally 14 second-chance points (compared to just three by the Owls).
 
After five-consecutive games at home, the W will look to get back on track next Thursday (Feb. 1/5:30 p.m.) at Blackburn College.