BRIDGEPORT, CT - The Iona College women's basketball team lost to Fairfield, 69-52, on Thursday night at the Webster Bank Arena.
Juana Camilion (12),
Ketsia Athias (10) and Olivia Vezladenos (10) paced the Gaels' offense in the loss to the Stags.
Shyan Mwai opened the scoring in the contest after a lull of about a minute-plus to begin the evening. Sam Lewis immediately provided an answer, cashing a three to trade baskets. Fairfield climbed out to an early five-point lead on two occasions in the early going, but Iona battled back throughout the final portion of the opening frame. Back-to-back triples from Juana Camilion, with a Stag basket sandwiched in between brought the Maroon & Gold within one point. Ketsia Athias scored with 36 seconds left to make it 17-16 in favor of Fairfield before Olivia Vezaldenos connected on a long-range trifecta at zeroes to put Iona ahead, 19-17, after the first quarter.
Andrea Hernangomez evened the score at 19-19 to start the second, but baskets from Athias and Thoranna Hodge-Carr gave the Maroon & Gold a slight edge again. Back-to-back triples from Sam Lewis and Lou Lopez-Senechal, separated by nearly five minutes of game action, pushed Fairfield back in front. Isabelle Lipinski and Camilion scored a basket each for Iona after Lopez-Senechal's triple, putting Iona back in front again. The lead changed hands one final time in the final 60 seconds after Fairfield scored the final two field goals of the half, grabbing a 29-27 lead at the intermission.
Fairfield began the second half on an 8-0 run to build its largest lead of the night, 37-27. Camilion ended Iona's three-minute scoring drought out of the break, trimming the Stags lead to single digits once more. Iona snapped out of its funk late in the frame, turning its largest deficit of the evening into a single-digit affair, 44-35, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Stags continued to add to their lead at the start of the final frame, jumping out to a 49-35 lead after another Lopez-Senechal bucket with 7:53 to play. Iona responded though, getting shots from Judith Gomez and Anouschka Meijer to fall, pulling within 10 points with more than six minutes to play. Lewis buried her fifth trifecta of the evening, followed by a Lopez-Senechal driving layup to push the Stags in front by 15 points with five minutes to play. Out of the media break, Lopez-Senechal drew a foul on a three-point attempt, connecting on all three tries from the charity stripe to extend the lead even further. The Maroon & Gold never came closer than 15 points over the final three-plus minutes, eventually falling to the Stags.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Camilion's 12 points led Iona and marked the sixth time in eight contests that she has eclipsed double-digit points. The Palma de Mallorca, Spain native has paced Iona offensively in four-of-eight games this season.
- Vezaldenos scored in double-figures for the second straight game and the third time overall this season.
- Athias fouled out, but ended her night with 10 points on 5-11 shooting.
- Hodge-Carr, who also fouled out, corralled a team-high five rebounds.
- Fairfield owned a 38-23 edge in rebounds and a 16-9 edge in assists. The two sides finished even in paint points, 24-24.
- Lopez-Senechal finished with a game-high 22 points.
UP NEXT
Iona is scheduled to return to action in the New Year on Thursday, January 6 against Siena. The Gaels and the Saints are scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3 at the Hynes Center.
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)
