AMHERST, MA - The Iona College women's basketball team lost to UMass, 79-56, on Tuesday evening at the Mullins Center. Senior
Ketsia Athias registered a season-high 14 points in the loss.
The game began with a frantic pace, seeing both sides knock down its first three attempts from the floor across the opening two minutes. The Minutewomen extended an early advantage to six points at the midway point of the period, but Athias scored inside before the media break, making it a 12-8 game. Sydney Taylor scored back-to-back buckets to make it 17-8 before Athias answered with another basket inside. Four straight points from UMass were again answered by an Athias paint touch and basket, sending Iona into the second quarter trailing 21-12.
Destiney Philoxy opened the period with a trifecta, then Paulla Weekes got it right back the old-fashioned way, converting on a three-point play. From that point on, UMass maintained its double-digit advantage in the score column and continued to pile it on. The Maroon & Gold were held without a point over the final 5:34 of the first half, watching the Minutewomen rattle off 12 consecutive points to open up a 40-17 lead at the break.
The Gaels could never really claw back into the game, struggling to get stops on the defensive end. After a five-point second quarter, the Gaels pieced together 18 points in the third, but allowed UMass to score a game-high 23 in the quarter. The Gaels saw the deficit grow to 30 points at one point towards the end of the quarter, but five free throws from Isabelle Lipinski in the final two minutes helped bring it back down. Iona trailed 63-35 entering the fourth.
UMass pushed the edge to 30 points again during the third, though late baskets from Jazmin Benn and Jessica Rogers once again trimmed the deficit. The Minutewomen dribbled out the remaining time on the clock after that, handing Iona its first loss of the season.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Offensively, Iona was led by Athias' 14 points. The senior did a majority of her damage in the first quarter, scoring eight points. She added four rebounds, a steal and a block.
- Lipinski scored seven points, all of which came from the charity stripe. Camilion added nine points of her own.
- Benn and Rogers scored their first points of the season in the waning moments of the fourth. Benn knocked down both of her tries from three-point range, accounting for two of the Gaels' five trifectas on the night.
- UMass entered the game averaging just over 83 points per game in its two previous wins. The 79 points by the Minutewomen are a season-high for an Iona opponent through three contests.
- Iona was out-rebounded 42-22 and the Minutewomen owned a 25-14 edge in assists. The Gaels forced 19 turnovers and converted them into 18 points offensively.
- The Minutewomen finished with 46 points in the paint and 12 second-chance points.
- UMass now owns a 2-0 advantage in the series history with the Maroon & Gold.
UP NEXT
Iona returns to New Rochelle to host Stony Brook on Saturday, November 20. The Gaels and the Seawolves will tip at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN3.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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