NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Despite a season-high 24 points from junior Alexis Lewis off the bench, the Iona College women's basketball suffered its sixth straight loss on Sunday afternoon. The visiting defending Patriot League Champions Bucknell Bison upended the Maroon & Gold, 60-53.
The Gaels got off to a slow start in the first quarter, shooting just 2-for-14 and miss all four trifectas. Bucknell jumped out to a 15-4 advantage and held Iona without any points for the first 6:02. Junior Treyanna Clay ended the scoreless drought and propelled forward a 13-4 run, bringing the deficit to four.
Head Coach Billi Chambers applied a press in the second quarter that forced five Bucknell turnovers and led to directly to eight points. Due to late first half foul trouble, the Gaels had to call off the pressure, allowing the Bison to enter halftime on 13-0 run, up 33-17.
For Bucknell, junior Kyi Engish had 10 first half points and junior Kaitlyn Stagus pulled down 10 rebounds in the first half. Coming off the bench, junior Maegan Mikkelsen had seven tallies on 2-for-2 shooting.
Iona shot 24.1% in the first half whole the Bison hit at a 43.5% clip. Both teams combined for 18 turnovers over the opening 20 minutes.
The second half was a back and forth battle with Slagus manning the Bison in keeping the Gaels at bay. The Preseason All-Patriot League Second Team honoree had 14 points in the second half; no other Bison player had more than four points. Freshman Toyosi Abiola went off in the second half allowing with Lewis; they scored 11 and 17 points respectfully over the final two frames to bring Iona within as many as six one two separate occasions.
Iona held Bucknell to 30.8% shooting in the second while improving its own mark to 40.5% on its own. The rebounding battle swung in Iona's favor of the third and fourth; it outrebounded the Bison 25-17 in the second half, and the Maroon & Gold earned the positive rebounding margin overall for the first time this season, 41-38.
Freshman Rebekah Justice played a season-high 10 minutes and netted her first collegiate points. Senior Kristin Mahoney scored a season-best four points and dished out three assists in 21 minutes of action.
Lewis finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds; it's her third double-double of the season, and 15th of her career.
Iona's next game is on Thursday, Dec. 7 at home against Hofstra. The game can be watched live on ESPN3 beginning at 7 PM.
Fans can keep up with the latest news and excitement surrounding Iona women's basketball by following the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
