SPRINGFIELD, MA - The Iona College women's basketball team punched a ticket to the 2013 MAAC Championship game with a 68-58 victory over Siena in its semifinal contest Saturday morning at the MassMutual Center.

Sophomore guard Damika Martinez scored a team high 25 points for the Gaels on 9-for-15 shooting, while also contributing six rebounds, four assists and five steals.  Freshman forward Joy Adams scored 11 points to go along with ten rebounds, including five on the offensive end.  Sophomore guard Aleesha Powell netted 11 points, while junior center Sabrina Jeridore had a career high 12 rebounds.  Redshirt junior guard Haley D'Angelo scored seven points and dished out six assists.

Siena gave the Gaels all they could handle early in the first half, taking a 7-2 lead on a layup by Kate Zarotney with 17:42 remaining.  Iona weathered the storm and answered with a 7-2 run of its own, tying the game at nine on a layup by Powell with 13:07 remaining.

A pair of Martinez free throws followed to give the Maroon & Gold its first lead of the game at 11-10, a lead the squad would not relinquish the rest of the way.  A jumper by Martinez with 7:20 remaining gave the Gaels their first double digit lead, 25-15, before a layup by Martinez just over a minute later gave Iona its biggest lead of the first half, 29-15.

Siena would cut into the Iona lead with a 9-0 run, trimming the deficit to five, 29-24, on a free throw by senior Lily Grenci.  Iona answered in the final minute of the period with four points, on a jumper by Martinez and a jumper by D'Angelo with three seconds remaining, to take a 33-24 lead into half.

After Adams opened the second half scoring with a layup, Iona would push the lead to 16, 44-28, on a free throw by Adams with 15:32 remaining.  Siena would counter with an 8-0 run, aided by a pair of three-pointers by Clara Sole Anglada to cut the Iona cushion to eight, 44-36, with 14:09 remaining.

The Gaels defense would once again bunker down, while the offense went on an 11-3 run over the next four-plus minutes, taking a 55-39 lead on a three-pointer by Martinez with 9:52 remaining.

Iona would continue to widen the margin, taking a commanding 66-45 lead with 4:36 remaining on a jumper by Jeridore that sealed the victory for the second seeded Gaels.  

Siena was led by Grenci, who scored 28 points in her final contest for the Saints.

The win was the 20th of the season for the Gaels, who reached the mark for the fourth time in school history, and third under the direction of head coach Anthony Bozzella.

The Gaels advance to their third MAAC Championship game in program history, where they will face top-seeded Marist.  The Red Foxes clinched a berth to their tenth consecutive finals with a 61-36 victory over Niagara in the other semifinal.  Marist has upended Iona in both of its Championship clashes, 64-57 in 2007 and 83-63 in the 2008 matchup.

The game begins at 12:00 pm Monday, and will air live on ESPNU.