FAIRFIELD CT – The Iona College women's basketball program suffered its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference loss Sunday afternoon to the Fairfield Stags, 68-59. Despite committing a season-low four turnovers, the Gaels shot a season-low 33.3%. It's the first MAAC opening road loss since Jan. 2, 2012, which also came against the Stags at Alumni Hall.
After a see-saw offensive start, Iona went scoreless over the final five minutes of the first quarter until senior Marina Lizarazu ended the drought on a layup with 25 seconds remaining. Fairfield went on an 8-2 run to close out the frame, leading to a 15-8 edge as the second quarter began.
The Gaels attacking woes continued into the second as they failed to score any points over the first 3:54. Sophomore Alexis Lewis got her first basket on an offensive put-back to end the skid. Over the nine-minute timeline spanning the end of the first and start of the second, Iona went just one-for-11 from the floor. The Maroon & Gold hit its second and final field goal of the second quarter with 25 seconds left, but five free throws kept the Maroon & Gold within striking distance.
Fairfield's defense clamped down in the first half, limiting the Gaels to a season-low 21% shooting over the first two periods. Lizarazu and Lewis combined to shoot 2-for-14 from the floor. Senior Karynda DuPree had a team-high seven points heading into the locker room. It was the lowest point total in a half for the Maroon & Gold this season.
Fairfield made four its first six shot attempts in the third quarter, expanding its lead to 36-25 at the media timeout. Taking on an uphill battle, freshman Tilasha Okey-Williams came off the bench in the latter moments of the frame to provide a quick momentum spark. Back-to-back buckets from the rookie in the final minute pulled the Gaels to four, 49-45.
With momentum starting to gather in the Gaels' sails, Stags RS-senior Casey Smith provided a monstrous fourth quarter to carry Fairfield to its first MAAC win of the season. She shot 5-for-5 and hit a free throw to tally 11 of her game-high 21 points in the final frame. Alongside senior Kelsey Carey, both smith hit a game-best eight field goals. Carey pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in addition to 17 points.
Lizarazu finished with 20 points, six assists, one block and two steals. DuPree had a game-high three blocks and team-high seven rebounds. She scored 15 points on 6-16 shooting. Lewis, who had come into the game averaging 20.1 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game, was limited to five points on 2-for-11 shooting, and five rebounds.
Iona had a season-best 15 points off the bench, supplied largely by Okey-Williams's career-high eight points. The Stags outrebounded the Gaels 39 to 34.
Iona returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 7 against non-conference neighborhood foe Fordham. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4 PM.
