NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College women's basketball team connected on 14 three-pointers, scoring 69 of its 78 points after the first quarter, to defeat Canisius 78-72 on Thursday night at the Hynes Athletics Center. Sophomore
Juana Camilion netted a new career-high 28 points before fouling out late in the contest.
GAME SUMMARY
Iona jumped out to a 7-4 advantage four minutes into the game. A two-minute dry spell for both sides was halted by a Danielle Sanderlin layup inside that brought Canisius within one point. Two more buckets inside gave the visitors its third lead in the opening period, 10-7. The Griffs scored four more points in the final minute after a
De'jah Williams jumper, taking a 14-9 lead into the second frame.
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Just over two minutes into the second quarter, Camilion scored inside to even the score again. Canisius and Iona traded trifectas back-and-forth, with Shayla Sweeney's three-ball giving the Griffs a 22-19 lead with 6:28 remaining.
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The Canisius lead grew to six points on two separate occasions, the latest being at the 5:00 mark of the period. From that point forward, Iona outscored Canisius 12-4 to take a 35-33 advantage into the half.
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The Gael lead reached double-digits at the midway point of the third quarter after back-to-back triples from
Lucia Becerra Perez and
Morgan Rachu.
Shyan Mwai added to the lead with back-to-back threes of her own to push the lead to 16 points, the largest of the game, with 1:35 left in the quarter. The Griffs managed to trim that to a very manageable 12-point deficit heading into the final frame.
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The fourth quarter started slow on both sides; Iona led 65-51 after a
Monica Barefield three-pointer with six minutes left. Barefield's bucket was just the fourth of the period to that point. Over the next five-plus minutes, the Griffs cut the deficit to four points. AJ Timbers connected from behind the arc with 37 seconds remaining to make it 76-72, but it would be the final points of the game for the visitors. Mwai closed things out with two free throws, completing a 78-72 victory for the Gaels.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Camilion's 28 points were a new career-best for the sophomore. Earlier this month, Camilion matched a career-high, scoring 26 in a victory at Canisius.
- Rachu pulled down nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double.
- Camilion doled out a game-high four assists.
- Anna Sweny finished with a game-leading three steals. Shannon Conely swatted two shots, the most among all players.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona's 14 made three-pointers are the program's most since January 8, 2007. The Gaels were one triple shy of tying a program record, set back in January of 2014 at Monmouth.
- As a team, the Maroon & Gold connected on 49% of their field goals, 54% of their shots from beyond the arc and 80% of their free throws. The three-point percentage (53.8) is the seventh-highest mark in program history.
- Iona's 16 made free throws are a new season-best and its 18 assists are also a new team-high.
- Three Gaels finished in double-figures: Camilion (28), Rachu (16) and Mwai (11). Tonight marks the 14thconsecutive game that at least one of the three has reached double-digit points.
- 69 of Iona's 78 points came in the final three quarters. Iona's 78 points are a new season-best for the team.
- The starting lineup of Becerra Perez, Camilion, Lesko, Rachu and Weekes notched its second win of the season. Before tonight, all eight of Iona's wins came with a different starting five.
- The Maroon & Gold are now 8-4 when out-assisting its opponent this year. Under Chambers, the Gaels are 65-15 when they finish with more assists.
- Five of Iona's nine wins this season have come in the shortest calendar month of the year.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Quinnipiac narrowly defeated Saint Peter's, 70-69 in Hamden. Paige Warfel hit the game winning free throw with less than a second remaining in regulation.
- Monmouth scored 36 of its 49 points in the second half to beat Siena in Loudonville, 49-43.
- Rider went on the road and bested Fairfield, 68-60, behind 20 points from Stella Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Gaels head upstate to face Siena this Saturday, February 29 at 2:00 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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