POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team fell to Marist, 61-49, on Monday evening at McCann Arena.
Shyan Mwai and
Olivia Vezaldenos led the way offensively for Iona, combining to score 23 points in the loss.
Juana Camilion opened the scoring on Monday night, driving inside and laying it in off the glass. Marist grabbed the lead shortly after on a triple by Sam Bailey. The Red Foxes ripped off nine consecutive points before the first media timeout of the night. After nearly three straight minutes without a point, Julianna Bonilla scored to make it 11-2 in favor of the home team. A layup by Ketsia Athias ended a six-minute scoring drought for the Maroon & Gold. With seven seconds left, Thoranna Hodge-Carr buried a triple, but Emma Wax followed with a basket just inside half-court to answer.
Marist padded its lead with back-to-back buckets, the latter of which forced an Iona timeout. Shyan Mwai scored out of the timeout to bring the game within single-digits again, 18-9. The Red Foxes scored six straight to push the lead to 15 points, but Jazzmin Benn checked in and nailed a corner three to make it 24-12. Iona fell behind by as much as 17, but ended the half with a three from Olivia Vezaldenos and a buzzer-beater by Mwai to head into the half trailing by a dozen, 29-17.
The two sides traded baskets early to begin the second half, with triples from Vezaldenos and then Camilion putting Iona behind by 12 on both occasions. Marist used a 6-0 run to build its largest lead of the game, 18 points, with 5:47 remaining. Free throws from Izzy Lipinski stopped the bleeding momentarily, but the Gaels went seven-plus minutes in between field goals made, finding themselves behind 45-27 in the closing moments of the third. A late layup from Athias made it 49-28 in favor of the Red Foxes heading into the final stanza.
The fourth quarter was Iona's best of the night, but it was too little too late for the Maroon & Gold. Defensively, Iona's consistent pressure finally began to pay dividends. Iona trailed by as much as 19 during the frame, but managed to trim that to as little as 11 points after Mwai caught fire offensively. With just under a minute to play, Marist added more insurance at the charity stripe, eventually closing out a 61-49 victory.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Mwai reached the 10-point plateau for the third time this season, leading all Iona scorers with 12 points. Her scoring total led the Gaels offensively for the second time this year and was one point shy of her season best.
- Vezaldenos was the only other Gael in double-digits, scoring 11 points with three baskets from beyond the arc. She has now reached double-figures in two of her last three games, averaging a shade over 10 points per game during that span.
- Camilion ended her night with seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Defensively, she matched her season high with four steals.
- Hodge-Carr pulled down a season-high six rebounds and connected on her second trifecta of the season, remaining a perfect 100 percent from three-point range.
- Mwai and Judith Gomez each registered a block. It marked the sixth of Mwai's career and the first of Gomez's collegiate career. Gomez also matched her season-best mark with five points on the offensive end.
- Marist was led by Kiara Fisher's 17 points, her second-straight contest with as many points. Trinasia Kennedy added 10 points in her second game of the year.
- Marist has now won six straight against Iona, dating back to 2017.
UP NEXT
Following the break for the Christmas holiday, Iona is back in action on the road at Fairfield on December 30. The Gaels and the Stags tip off at 7:00 p.m. Thursday night at the Webster Bank Arena.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow Iona women's basketball and Iona College athletics on our social media platforms.
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Women's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
