ALBANY, NY - The second seeded Iona College women's basketball team defeated No. 7 Siena in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 MAAC Championships at the Times Union Center.  The win advanced the Gaels to the semifinals for the fifth straight year, where they will face No. 3 Fairfield at 9:30 am on March 6.

First Team All-MAAC honoree Thazina Cook had a double-double in the victory, leading all players with 19 points and 11 rebounds while adding three steals and two blocks.  Cook was followed by Kristina Ford, who also had a double-double with 11 points and ten boards.  Third Team selections Anna McLean and Suzi Fregosi also made an impact for Iona, with McLean posting nine points and nine rebounds and Fregosi dishing a game-high eight assists.

A closely-played first half featured four lead changes and four tied scores, including stalemates at the 17:11, 13:05, 9:06, and 7:25 marks.  Even at 17-all with 7:25 to go in the period, the Maroon & Gold took the lead for good on back-to-back jumpers by Ford.  The Saints' Sarah Fullmer sunk two free throws to bring Siena back to within two points with 3:02 on the clock.  Iona registered the final four points of the half with baskets by Cook and Milica Paligoric to lead by six, 25-19, at intermission.

The Gaels doubled their lead over the first five minutes of the second half, outscoring Siena 10-4 coming out of the break to take a 35-23 advantage.  Iona held on to a double-digit lead over the last 13:36 and led by as much as 16 by the final buzzer.

Following Iona's contest, Fairfield eliminated Loyola by a score of 70-56 to move on to Saturday's semifinal.