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.
BALTIMORE, MD - The Iona College women's basketball team dropped their fourth consecutive game with a tough 66-60 loss to Loyola Friday evening in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at Reitz Arena.
Eveything seemed to fall for Iona to start the game, as a three-pointer by freshman guard
Damika Martinez sparked a 10-0 run, giving the Gaels an early 17-8 lead with 14:20 remaining in the half.
The Maroon and Gold's tenacious defense was the theme of the first half, as they held the Greyhounds to just 30% from the field, including 1-of-11 from three-point range. A pair of free throws by senior guard
Suzi Fregosi extended Iona's lead to 12, as they took a 37-25 lead into the second half.
However, the Greyhounds came out and opened the half on a 12-2 run, led by 10 points from freshman guard Kara Marshall, to cut the Gaels' lead to four.
With the score knotted at 48, a three-pointer by senior forward
Tomica Bacic gave Iona a three point lead with 5:42 remaining in the game. From there, Loyola went on a 13-2 run, led by seven points from senior guard Miriam McKenzie, to steal a win from Iona, dropping the Gaels to 6-6 in conference play.
Martinez led the Gaels with 19 points, and eight rebounds, while Bacic had 15 points and six rebounds. McKenzie led all scorers with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
The Gaels look to bounce back on Sunday, when they tak on Niagara at the Hynes Center at 4:30 pm.
