PITTSBURGH, PA – The Iona College women's basketball lost to Duquesne 80-59 on Tuesday evening. The Dukes outrebounded the Gaels by 20 and excelled at the free throw line, shooting 18-for-19. The loss is the Maroon & Gold's fourth straight to open the season.
The first quarter was a frame of runs. The Dukes opened the game on a 6-0 stretch, and closing it out on a 7-0 run. Iona had a 7-0 spurt that gave it the lead for a brief moment in the middle of the first until it was recaptured by the home team on their next possession. Duquesne led the Gaels 20-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Iona got within two points with 1:25 remaining in the first half on Lewis' fourth field goal of the quarter. Duquesne then rattled off eight points over the final 69 seconds of the half to lead 37-27 at the intermission. Over the final two minutes of the first and second quarters, the Dukes outscored Iona 15 to 5.
Lewis led the Maroon & Gold with 10 points in just 10 minutes in the first half. She shot 4-for-6, including a pair of three points field goals. All of her points came in the seconds quarter after picking up two early fouls in the opening minutes of the game.
Junior Chassidy Omogrosso had 12 first half points on 5-of-9 shooting. Duquesne shot the ball well over the opening 20 minutes, at a 42.9% clip, and it netted 11 fast break points.
The third quarter began with Lewis banging home her third three-pointer to cut the deficit to single-digits. Duquesne answered with a 9-0 run that forced a Gael timeout trailing, 46-30. Iona responded immediately by holding the Dukes scoreless for an extended stretch that brought the Maroon & Gold back within nine with 3:58 left in the third.
The final three minutes of the third saw the Gaels and Dukes combined to shoot 1-for-8. Duquesne took advantage of the free throw line and extended its leads to 12 at the frame's conclusion.
Junior Kadri-Ann Lass had three layups from the right block that helped the Dukes build a 60-44 lead with seven minutes remaining. Lass ended up scoring Duquesne's first five field goals of the fourth quarter. The Dukes shot 64.3% in the fourth quarter and ended the game with an opponent-high 45.9%. Duquesne also shot an opponent-best this season 35.3% from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Amelia Motz scored a career-high 11 points off the bench. Lewis finished with a team-high 15 points. Sophomore Tori Lesko netted 10 and distributed a game-best and season-high four assists; she also drew four offensive fouls against the Dukes.
Omogrosso scored a game-high 19 points for Duquesne. Lass ended with 13 points, and sophomore Connor Richardson scored 17 and passed out a team-high five assists. Freshman Libby Bazelak also had a team-best five helpers.
Iona's next game is after the Thanksgiving break on Monday Nov. 27 when it hosts Toledo for an early afternoon affair at the Hynes Athletics Center. Tip-off is set for noon. The game can be watched live on ESPN3 or WATCHESPN.
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