Mike Ritz is currently a junior journalism major at Iona College. He is from Yorktown, New York and is a sports writer for the school newspaper, The Ionian. Mike has been the manager for the Iona women's basketball team since his freshman year. A lover of sports, he played four years of basketball in high school as well as four years of golf. Mike comes from an Iona family, both of his parents, Ron and Michelle, graduated from Iona as well as his sister, Jen, who played basketball for the Gaels for four years and graduated in 2008. Mike loves to be a part of the Iona family and aspires to be a successful sports writer when he graduates.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team won their sixth game out of its last seven Sunday afternoon with a 77-67 decision over Canisius at the Hynes Center.
With the Gaels leading 8-7 out of the gate, four points and a key assist from junior guard
Haley D'Angelo led Iona on a 11-3 run, breaking the game open to give them a 19-10 lead. Consistent play by both teams kept Iona ahead throughout the first half, but a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Jackie Marshall with seven seconds remaining stretched their lead to 43-30 at the half.
The Gaels came out ready to play to start the second half, with a layup by senior forward
Kristina Ford with 13:04 left giving Iona their biggest lead of the game of 20.
But the Golden Griffins would not quit, as three-point shooting brought them back into the contest and almost erased Iona's lead. Three three-pointers by three different scorers cut the Gaels lead to 12 with 8:17 remaining. A layup by Ashley Durham with 6:37 left started a 7-1 run to cut the Gaels lead to six with 2:19 remaining. Foul trouble kept freshmen guards
Damika Martinez and
Aleesha Powell limited in the half, but they were able to still have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.
“It was tough for both of those girls to be in foul trouble in the second half,” said head coach
Anthony Bozzella. “But other players stepped up and that is huge for us as we enter a very important stretch in our schedule.”
A crucial steal by D'Angelo gave Iona the ball back before senior guard
Suzi Fregosi closed the game out with free throws down the stretch.
Powell led the Gaels with 15 points and four rebounds, while Fregosi finished with 13 points and her second consecutive game with seven assists. Martinez added 10 points and senior ceneter
Milica Paligoric had a team high seven rebounds in just 14 minutes of play. Ashley Durham led all scorers with 18 points.
“I was pleased that the girls were able to pull this one out,” said Bozzella. “Now we need to focus on Marist on Friday.”
The Gaels are back at it at the Hynes Center on Friday as they take on Marist at 7pm.
