LEWISTON, NY – The Gaels held off a late surge from Niagara and completed the sweep of Buffalo opponents with a 70-58 victory over the Purple Eagles. The Maroon & Gold won road games over Canisius and Niagara in succession for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

GAME SUMMARY

The Gaels jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with baskets from Paulla Weekes and Shyan Mwai. The Purple Eagles answered immediately however, scoring five straight of their own to bring us right back where we started just three minutes in.
 
Juana Camilion got involved with the scoring, as well as Gabrielle Joseph. A layup from Joseph sandwiched in between two baskets by Camilion gave the Maroon & Gold an 11-9 advantage with 2:23 to play in the first frame.
 
Valentina Pepic tied the game for the fourth time in the first quarter with a layup inside. Her two free throws a little less than a minute later gave Niagara its first lead of the afternoon, 13-11. De'jah Williams got on the board and tied things at 13, but a late trip to the line for the home team would help them take a 14-13 advantage into the second quarter.
 
Niagara extended its lead to 19-13 to open the second period. Iona followed with a 13-0 run, turning its six-point deficit into a seven-point advantage. It began with two triples from Morgan Rachu, tying the game at 19 apiece. 
 
After Joseph made one-of-two free throws, Williams completed a three-point play inside to make it 23-19 in favor of Iona. Williams scored the next basket as well and a Lucia Becerra Perez free throw on the next possession made it 26-19. Sydney Faulcon interrupted the run with a layup inside, but Monica Barefield answered with one of her own to make it a seven-point game again.
 
A quick 6-0 spurt from Niagara made it a one-point deficit for the Purple Eagles, but another three from Rachu extended the lead to four. Aiste Vaitekunaite and Williams scored in the final minute of the half to give the Gaels a 35-29 edge at the halftime break.
 
Camilion came out on fire to start the second half, connecting on three trifectas, with the last of the three forcing a Niagara timeout. The Gaels opened up a 44-32 lead, the largest by either side at that point. Camilion continued to be a problem offensively, getting to the free throw line and knocking down a pair on the first possession out of the timeout.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Angel Parker trimmed Iona's lead to single-digits, but Camilion promptly scored on a fast break after a steal and made it a 10-point game once more. Weekes' three-pointer with 3:17 left in the quarter made it 51-40 and was also the first points for Iona in the third period not scored by Camilion. Iona had an answer for every Niagara basket, carrying a double-digit lead into the fourth.
 
Maggie McIntyre buried a three-pointer at the 7:21 mark of the final frame, starting a mini comeback for the Purple Eagles, who now trailed by single digits again. Two free throws from Parker followed, then a layup by Emerald Ekpiteta made it 59-54 and forced an Iona timeout.
 
Out of the called timeout, Rachu made a difficult turnaround shot look easy and extended Iona's lead to seven. The cushion would not last though; the Gaels watched as their 13-point lead was whittled down to just three points with 2:27 to play. To make matters worse, Camilion fouled out after connecting with McIntyre's hand on a three-pointer.
 
A pair of free throws by Barefield made it 63-58 with under two minutes to play. Both sides played good defense for the next minute-and-a-half and it became a five-point game with less than a minute on the clock. Weekes' hit on a three-pointer from the far corner, icing an eventual win for the Gaels at the Gallagher Center.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Camilion led all scorers with 17 points on 6-13 shooting, despite fouling out in the final frame. The sophomore connected on three shots from beyond the arc.
• Williams pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in 20 minutes of action off the bench. 
• Becerra Perez dished out five assists, setting a new career high.
• Barefield and Ekpiteta came away with a game-high three steals. 
• Adia Brisker recorded the lone blocked shot of the afternoon.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• With today's victory, the Gaels have surpassed their win total from a season prior. The team's six wins this season are it's most since it won 18 in the 2016-17 season.
• Rachu scored in double figures for the first time since December 21, 2019 against UMass. 
• Camilion reached double-digit points for the sixth straight game. The Gaels are 3-3 in that stretch of games and four of Iona's six wins this season have seen the sophomore score at least 10 points. 
• Williams' nine rebounds were a new career best. Joseph set a new season-best with eight boards.
• Becerra Perez's five helpers were a personal best for the rookie.
• Weekes finished with 11 points and shot a perfect 3-3 from downtown. The three trifectas are a new career high for the redshirt freshman.
• Iona strung together back-to-back 20-point quarters for just the fourth time this season.
• The Gaels' 35 points at halftime were one off the team's season best. All in all, Iona reached the 70-point plateau for the third time this season. The Maroon & Gold are 2-1 this season when scoring 70+.
• Half of Iona's wins this season have come on Saturday. The Gaels 3-5 overall in games played on Saturday this season.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Canisius upset Fairfield, 70-63, at the Koessler Athletic Center. 
• The rest of Saturday's game were either still in progress or yet to tip off at the time of this release.

UP NEXT

Iona returns to the Hynes Athletics Center to host Monmouth on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and fans can also follow along via live stats.

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