NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College women's basketball team enters the holiday break following a hard-fought 72-58 loss to Kansas at the Hynes Center. Freshman Toyosi Abiola led the Maroon & Gold with 17 points, but the Jayhawks used a 48-to-4 points in the point advantage to come out on top.
For the second straight game, Abiola hit a career-best three trifectas. Senior Kristin Mahoney had a team-high five assists; it's the third time she has reached the personal best mark this season. Junior Alexis Lewis pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds to go along with her 13 points.
The Gaels had 10 assists on 12 field goals in the first half and ended with 16 helpers on their 21 made baskets. Kansas led the rebounding battle 36 to 29, but mustered only 12 second chance points.
Kansas held a 42-30 lead at halftime, but the Maroon & Gold came out in the second half with their shooting stroke on fire. Abiola took over the game and scored eight straight points over a 120 second stretch, resulting in the Gaels taking a 47-46 lead with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter. Following the three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week's spurt, Kansas answered with a 7-0 run of its own. Sophomore Tilasha Okey-Williams made sure the Gaels retained some momentum heading into the final frame by hitting her first three-pointer.
Iona fell behind by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter. Kansas shot 50.0% in the fourth while the Gaels shot a game-worst 23.1% in the frame. The three-point shot that was dropping throughout the game went cold in the fourth; they went 1-9 from beyond the arc after hitting 10-for-25 in the opening three quarters.
Junior Austin Richardson led Kansas with 18 points and ten rebounds. She shot 8-for-14 from the floor, and 1-of-3 from deep. Junior Christina netted 12 points and passed out a game-high 7 assists.
Iona's next game is in Western New York against Niagara University on Saturday, Dec. 30. It is the opening of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference season for both team.
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