NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team fell on Saturday afternoon in its return from a 35-day hiatus. The Monmouth Hawks outscored Iona 20-8 in the final period, handing the Gaels a 64-55 loss in the conference opener of the 2021-22 season.
Ketsia Athias poured in a career-best 20 points, followed closely by
Juana Camilion's 18 points, pacing the Maroon & Gold offensively.
Iona didn't look like a team that hadn't played a game in 35 days, specifically Camilion, who didn't miss a beat offensively. Juana was a key cog early on, scoring seven of Iona's 13 first-quarter points. The Gaels and the Hawks were knotted at 13-13 after the opening period, thanks to a layup by Thoranna Hodge-Carr in the final minute.
Camilion quickly climbed into double-figures, scoring back-to-back baskets to build a 22-19 advantage for the home team. Monmouth evened things again at just about the halfway point of the second quarter on a pair of free throws by Stella Clark. A triple from Vezaldenos and a bucket inside by Athias granted the Maroon & Gold its largest lead of the afternoon, 29-23. Clark answered with a basket of her own, but Athias pushed the lead back to six with her third field goal of the period. Clark was responsible for the final bucket of the half, a trifecta with just over a minute to play that made it a 33-28 ball game.
Iona managed to stay in front for the opening portion of the third quarter, fighting off Monmouth's push. Ariana Vanderhoop brought the Hawks back with a pull-up jumper at the 4:20 mark, forcing an Iona timeout with the score tied at 40. The Maroon & Gold used back-to-back baskets from Marina Cenis and Athias to grab a four-point lead. A three-pointer by Vezaldenos, her third of the period, with 27 seconds to play propelled the Gaels to a three-point edge heading into the final stanza.
Athias continued her strong second-half play by scoring to open play in the fourth. After a Jen Louro three evened things at 49-49, Athias again answered to put Iona in front. Back-to-back baskets from Clark gave the Hawks the edge, which climbed to five points after a Jania Hall free throw with five minutes to play. Both sides were held off the scoreboard for the ensuing 90 seconds before Athias scored to make it a one-possession game again. Clark stole the show and iced the game over the final three minutes of play, scoring Monmouth's final eight points to hand Iona a loss in the MAAC opener.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Athias' 20 points were a career-best. The senior shot an uber-efficient 10-15 from the field, adding 10 rebounds to notch her first career double-double as well. It marked the second time this season she finished with a team-high in points and the fourth time she has led in rebounds.
- Camilion's 18 points were a season-high for the Palma de Mallorca, Spain native. She stuffed the stat sheet, adding five assists, a season-best two blocks as well as three steals.
- Vezaldenos knocked down three triples, a season-best mark from long range. She added a career-best three steals on the defensive side as well.
- Clark finished one point shy of her career best mark offensively. Her 27 points were a season-best and are the most points scored by an individual opponent this year. Defensively, Clark added five steals.
- The Gaels were shooting 47.6 percent from the field before a 3-13 performance in the final stanza. Monmouth connected on seven of its 12 field goal attempts in the fourth, finishing at an even 50 percent clip from the floor.
- The score changed hands six times during the course of the game and saw a tie on 10 different occasions.
- Monmouth snapped Iona's two-game win streak, earning the 12th win in the series history between the two programs. Iona still owns a narrow 13-12 advantage.
UP NEXT
Iona plays one final game before the Christmas holiday, traveling to face Marist on Monday, December 20 at 7:00 p.m.
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