NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College women's basketball team beat Kutztown 76-70 in an exhibition game on Saturday evening. The Gaels used a 19-0 run that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter to emerge with a win.

GAME SUMMARY

Iona opened up the evening leading 6-0 before surrendering seven straight points to Kutztown in a two-minute span. The two sides traded buckets and the lead for the entire first period of play. Zoe Zerman connected on a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the score at 21-21.
 
Monica Barefield made one of two free throws to give Iona the lead once more to start the quarter. Back-to-back layups by sophomore De'jah Williams extended the Gaels to five points.
 
Kutztown held Iona without a basket for the next three-plus minutes and used an 11-0 run to build a six-point lead halfway through the second quarter. A layup by Paulla Weekes stopped the drought for Iona, but the Bears scored six straight to build a double-digit lead. The Maroon & Gold held Kutztown scoreless over the final two minutes of play, forcing three turnovers and trimming the deficit to four points entering the locker room.
 
Both sides traded points out of the halftime break; The Gaels couldn't get any closer than when the quarter started until 
 
Juana Camilion's driving layup gave Iona its first lead since the 8:37 mark of the second quarter. Iona's defense turned up the heat as well, drawing a charge and forcing a turnover on a bad pass because of its press defense and then drawing another charge. Sandwiched in between all of that was Mwai's third three-pointer of the game and an old-fashioned three-point play converted by Weekes to give the Gaels a 56-49 lead.
 
Iona's 16-0 run allowed them to take a 58-49 lead into the final quarter of the contest. Williams' three-point play pushed the lead to 12 points, the team's largest of the night. Brianna Tarabocchia's corner-three ended Kutztown's almost six-minute scoring drought.
 
The Bears got within five points of the Gaels at the under-five media timeout, but Iona expanded its lead on the first possession out of the break. Some good defense late by the visitors allowed them to make it a one-possession game. Weekes hit the backend of two free throws with 50 seconds left to play and the Maroon & Gold closed out a victory in the newly renovated Hynes Athletics Center.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Mwai finished with a team-leading 18 points, connecting on all four of her attempts from beyond the arc.
• In her first appearance with the Maroon & Gold, Williams was 7-11 from the floor and scored 12 points inside the paint.
• Camilion (10 points) and Weekes (13 points) were the other two Gaels to score in double-figures.
• The Gaels were 20-28 from the free throw line. Weekes went to the stripe nine times, converting on five.
• Williams finished two rebounds shy of a double-double. Rachu also grabbed eight rebounds, which was tied for the team lead.
• As a team, Iona shot over 50% from the field (25-48). 32 of the 76 points came off of turnovers for the Gaels.
• The Maroon & Gold regained the lead with 3:08 left on the clock in the third quarter and maintained it for the remainder of the contest. Iona's largest lead was 12 points.

UP NEXT

Iona opens up its 2019-20 season on Friday, November 9 at Winthrop University. The two programs will meet for the first time in the series history. The game will broadcasted on ESPN+ and will tip-off at 7:00 p.m.

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