WEST POINT, NY – The Iona College women's basketball team opened up the 2020-21 season with a 67-52 loss to the Army Black Knights. It was a tale of two halves for the Gaels, who trailed by just two after 20 minutes of action, but were outscored 40-27 in the second half. Juana Camilion scored a game-high 19 points in the loss.

GAME SUMMARY

Things started slow between both programs with just three points scored in the opening three minutes of action. Army held a 3-0 advantage before baskets from Hannah King and Lucia Becerra Perez gave Iona a 4-3 lead with six minutes remaining. King added another two points, expanding the Gael lead to 6-3 before exiting with foul trouble just before the halfway mark of the first period.
 
The Black Knights took back the lead heading into the first media timeout of the afternoon. Thoranna Hodge-Carr opened up the scoring with her first career basket out of the break and gave Iona the lead once more. The cadets were responsible for the final eight points of the quarter, taking a 15-8 lead into the second frame.
 
The Maroon & Gold were firing on all cylinders to begin quarter number two, scoring five of the first six baskets to regain a one-point lead. The first buckets of Olivia Vezaldenos' and Sydney Avoletta's respective careers padded Iona's lead. After a dry spell on both sides, Kate Murray connected from beyond the arc to make it 25-23 in favor of the Black Knights. Army carried a 27-25 advantage into the locker room at the conclusion of the first half.
 
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair between the two sides, with each team trading leads. Iona's lead grew to as big as six points after a Juana Camilion triple with 4:35 remaining, but stellar defense from the home team flipped the script. The Black Knights shut down the Gael offense, holding them scoreless for the final 4:30 of the third quarter. Army ended the period on a 13-0 run, turning a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead heading into the final frame.
 
It was another slow start for both sides to begin the fourth quarter, but back-to-back baskets from Shyan Mwai and Paulla Weekes made it a one-possession game with just under six minutes to play. It was at that point that Army's Alisa Fallon took over. She scored the next eight points of the contest, converting on two and-one finishes inside, and giving her team a 10-point cushion with 3:40 remaining.
 
The Gaels could not close the gap and the Black Knights cruised to a 67-52 victory, handing Iona a loss in its 2020-21 season opener.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Camilion scored a team and game-high 19 points. The junior connected on 7-20 FG and just 4-11 from downtown. Kate Murray matched Camilion's effort, pouring in 19 of her own.
• Kate Murray pulled down 12 rebounds, giving her a double-double. Anouschka Meijer had the high-mark for the Maroon & Gold, grabbing seven rebounds in her collegiate debut.
• Meijer led all players with five assists. The Gaels and the Black Knights finished with 13 each, as a team.
• Jenae Dublin and Alisa Fallon had the lone blocked shots for each side. Becerra Perez finished with two steals, a game best.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona was outscored 40-27 in the second half. Iona had held Army to a sub-30 percent field goal percentage in the first two quarters, but the Black Knights shot an efficient 55 percent from the floor in the second half.
• The Maroon & Gold were outdone by a large margin at the charity stripe. Army went to the line 24 times, hitting on 20. The Gaels did not shoot a free throw until the 2:08 mark in the third quarter, finishing 1-6 from the stripe.
• Camilion was the lone Gael to eclipse double-digit points. Iona received scoring contributions from 10 of its 13 players that saw playing time.
• The lead changed hands 10 times throughout the game. The Maroon & Gold led for just under 10 minutes of action, compared to Army's 25+ minutes. The Gaels never led by more than six points.
• The Black Knights finished with narrow advantages in points in the paint (24-22), fast break points (5-3) and bench points (28-25). The Gaels finished with 12 points off of turnovers, while allowing 11.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will play host to Bryant on Friday, December 4 in the 2020-21 home opener. Tip is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the Hynes Center and the game will be broadcast on either ESPN3 or ESPN+. Stay tuned to ICGaels.com as well as the Iona Athletics and Iona Women's Basketball social media pages for more updates.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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