SMITHFIELD, RI - The Iona College women's basketball team defeated Bryant 60-56 on Tuesday night at the Chace Athletic Center. The Gaels defense forced 32 turnovers and
Juana Camilion's 15 points helped the Maroon & Gold open up the 2021-22 season with a victory.
Iona led for a majority of the evening, setting the tone early after winning the opening tip and scoring on its first possession. Despite an 8-0 run by the Bulldogs, the Gaels chipped away and tied the score at 11 apiece with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. Camilion scored the final four points of the period to give Iona a 15-11 advantage after 10 minutes.
The Gaels built up a nine-point lead midway through the second stanza, eventually expanding the advantage to seven points in the final minute of the opening half. Iona shot above 50 percent from the floor in the second quarter, heading into the break with a 31-25 lead.
Bryant managed to tie things up again four minutes into the third quarter, 33-33, after an Alana Perkins three-pointer. Brooke Bjelko put the Bulldogs back in front for the first time since the opening quarter, but it was short lived. Shyan Mwai put home a runner and then followed with a trifecta on the ensuing possession, sending her squad into the media timeout with a 38-35 advantage. An Olivia Vezaldenos three, followed by a bucket from Marina Cenis inside saw the lead grow to eight with 60 seconds to play in the third. Bryant trimmed the deficit to three points in the final minute, putting the Bulldogs within one score of the Maroon & Gold heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Back-to-back baskets from Camilion built the lead for Iona back up to eight points to open the fourth. Every time that Bryant scored, Iona responded with another big basket of its own. Isabelle Lipinski came up big, as did Mwai in the early going of the final period. Lipinski corralled an offensive rebound, putting home a second-chance try and drawing the foul. She converted on the free throw, giving Iona its biggest lead of the night, 51-42. After another Perkins three, Mwai hit a floater to again pad Iona's lead.
Bryant pulled within one possession of the lead again after a basket in the paint with just over four minutes to play. Iona weathered the storm, once again going up eight points after a Vezaldenos basket. Trailing 59-51 with 1:14 to play, Bryant pulled to within three after a Perkins triple with 41 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs possessed the ball with the shot clock turned off, but a three-pointer with 11 ticks left missed the mark, was gathered by Lipinski and eventually sent Anouschka Meijer to the charity stripe with a chance to seal the win. The Amsterdam, Netherlands native did just that, making the front-end of two free throws and securing the win for the Maroon & Gold on opening night.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Camilion's 15 points offensively were a game-high and came on 6-13 shooting from the floor. She also led all players with four steals and added a team-high five rebounds and three assists.
- Defensively, the Gaels forced 32 Bulldog turnovers and converted them into 28 points. The 32 turnovers are the most by an Iona opponent in the Billi Chambers era.
- Iona's 15 steals are its most since tallying 16 in a win over Rider last December.
- The Maroon & Gold scored 36 points inside the painted area. 15 of the Gaels' 60 points came from beyond the arc and five came from the free-throw line.
- The Gael bench provided 31 points, highlighted by a double-digit effort from Mwai (10) and seven points from Cenis in her collegiate debut.
- Iona led for 31:31 of a possible 40 minutes. The lead changed hands just four times.
- The Gaels outscored Bryant in three of four quarters and shot 50 percent or better in both the second and fourth quarters.
- Bryant out-rebounded Iona 41-24, though the Gaels finished with a narrow 16-14 edge in assists.
- The season-opening win for Iona is its fifth under Chambers and the first since the 2019-20 season when the Gaels beat Winthrop on the road.
UP NEXT
Iona hosts Winthrop in the 2021-22 home opener on Saturday, November 13 as part of a doubleheader at the Hynes Center. Tip between the Gaels and the Eagles is tentatively set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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