BALTIMORE, MD - The Iona College women's basketball team was defeated by Loyola, 57-46, in conference action on the road.  The Gaels, who played their third game in seven days, are now 1-5 in MAAC play and 5-13 overall while the Greyhounds advanced to 5-1 in the league (8-9 overall).

After falling behind 10-0 to start the contest, Iona outscored Loyola 12-2 over two and a half minutes to climb to within one at 13-12 by the 11:33 mark of the first half.  The Maroon & Gold took over the lead at 5:29 on a three point basket by Kristina Ford and scored 10 of the next 15 points to lead 32-25 at halftime.

The seven point advantage marked just the third time this season the Gaels have led at the break.  Ford recorded 17 of her game-high 18 points in the first half before being limited to just eight minutes on the court in the second half due to foul trouble.

Milica Paligoric opened the scoring in the second period with a trifecta 36 seconds in to give Iona its largest lead of the day, a ten point spread at 35-25.  That was the best it would get for the Gaels, who shot 17.2% from the floor in the second half compared to 42.3% in the first.  Loyola put together a 16-6 run to tie the game at 41-all with 8:46 remaining, and moved in front for good with 5:55 to go.

Miriam McKenzie led the Greyhounds with 15 points and seven rebounds, followed by 12 points and a team-best eight boards from Meredith Tolley.

For Iona, Ford was 6 for 8 from the field, banking all three attempts from beyond the arc and making 3 of 4 free throw attempts.  Tomica Bacic also contributed double figures with 11 points and led the squad with eight rebounds.  Diana Hubbard added nine points and Haley D'Angelo distributed four assists.  Jessica Scannell had two assists and a team-high three steals.

The Gaels are home next weekend, hosting Rider at 7:30 pm on Jan. 21 and Canisius at 2:00 pm on Jan. 23.