NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College women's basketball made a statement early Thursday evening, toppling the Marist Red Foxes by a final score of 69-49. The victory was first time the Gaels topped the Red Foxes at the Hynes Athletics Center since Feb. 24, 2001.
Senior Joy Adams recorded her eighth career 20-rebound effort, finishing the contest with a season-high 24 boards; 22 of them defensive. Adams also scored 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting, including two three-point fields goals.
Junior Marina Lizarazu dished out a season-high 10 assists, and scored 10 points for her first double-double of the 2015-16 season. Senior Aaliyah Robinson scored 14 points, hitting four-of-10 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Philecia Gilmore shot six-of-10 and score 15 points to go along with two assists.
The Maroon & Gold came out gunning straight from the tip, hitting eight of their first 10 shots to hold a 22-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. The advantage swelled to double-digits come halftime due to an impressive defense effort in the second quarter. The Red Foxes shot just three-for-12 in the second frame, scoring just six total points.
Iona led Marist 38-27 at the halftime break. The leader for the Gaels at the intermission was Adams, who already had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Iona shot 55.6% from the floor in the first half, hitting eight-for-13 from beyond the arc.
Using a nine-nothing run to start the third quarter, the Gaels built up a twenty-point lead at 6:37 of the third quarter; during the course of the game Marist would trail by as many as 25 points.
Over the course of the second half, the Maroon & Gold dominated the paint and set the tempo defensively. The Gaels outrebounded the Red Foxes 25 to 12 over the course of the final 20 minutes, in addition to holding Marist to 23.8% shooting.
Gilmore led Iona in scoring during the second half with a tally of nine; Lizarazu earned her double-double with seven second-half points, and Robinson knocked down two triples that helped ice the victory.
Adam's 24 rebounds is tied for the second-highest in her career; both efforts have come against Marist. The senior now has eight career 20-plus rebound games.
For Marist, the leader was sixth-year senior Tori Jorasz; she finished with a game-high 22 points on nine-for-15 shooting. Senior Sydney Coffey had nine points and six assists for the Red Foxes.
With the win, Iona improves to 9-7 on the season, and 5-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
The Gaels will return to action this Sunday, Jan. 10 when they tip off at 2 pm against the visiting Canisius College Golden Griffs.
