Bridgeport, CT - The Iona College women's basketball team returned to the site of last season's MAAC championships and pulled out an important win over Fairfield.  The Gaels (12-8, 6-3 MAAC) defeated the Stags (14-6, 4-5 MAAC) by a score of 64-57.  Lauren DeFalco led the Maroon & Gold with 14 points.

Fairfield's Sabra Wrice had a game-high 18 points while Baendu Lowenthal followed with 17.

Iona broke out of the box in the first half, holding Fairfield scoreless for ten and a half minutes while going on a 21-0 run to take an 18 point lead at the 6:52 mark.  The Stags recovered on a Shireyll Moore layup with 6:32 on the clock and scored 11 of the next 13 points to cut the Gaels' lead to nine with 3:07 to go in the half.  Iona outscored Fairfield 7-1 over those three minutes for a 15 point edge at halftime.

After shooting just 18.2% in the opening period, the Stags used a 44.7% shooting effort in the second half to trim the visitor's lead significantly.  The Stags managed to climb to as close as four points in the final stages, but were never able to catch up to the Gaels.

Iona's superior shooting percentages on the night proved to be the difference in the game, as Fairfield led nearly every other statistical category including rebounds, assists, and steals.

Next up for the Gaels is the second of two road contests as the squad travels to face Loyola on Jan. 31.  Game time is set for 7:00 pm.