RIVERDALE, NY – The Iona College women's basketball returned to the court on Friday afternoon after a league-high 42-day layoff in between games. Despite their best efforts, the Gaels fell to Manhattan, 64-48.
GAME SUMMARY
Iona won the opening tip at Draddy Gymnasium and scored on its first possession, a
Paulla Weekes basket in the paint, to begin the afternoon.
Jenae Dublin followed suit a minute later, giving Iona a 4-3 lead with a bucket of her own inside. After a three-minute spell of no points, it was
Ketsia Athias who ended the drought for the Gaels. Athias checked in and scored on her first possession as a member of the Maroon & Gold.
Athias scored points three and four a couple of minutes later, making it a one-possession game with just under four minutes left in the opening stanza. Manhattan extended its lead to seven points with back-to-back baskets, but Iona answered with a pair of buckets of its own from
Lucia Becerra Perez and
Juana Camilion to make it 15-13. Courtney Warley closed out the quarter with four points in the final minute to give the Jaspers a 19-13 lead after one.
Manhattan's lead grew to nine points, 27-18, after a Dee-Dee Davis three-point play midway through the second frame.
Shyan Mwai buried a triple to cut into that lead, but the Jaspers went on an 8-0 run to build a 15-point advantage with two minutes to play in the half.
Thoranna Hodge-Carr ended a four-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws, but the Gaels deficit remained at 15 heading into the halftime break.
Iona controlled the pace of play across the opening five minutes of action in the third quarter, scoring nine of the first 11 points. The 9-2 run by the Maroon & Gold brought them within single digits again, 39-31. Manhattan's lead dwindled to six points on two occasions in the closing minutes of the quarter, but they ended the frame on a 6-0 run to push the lead back to double figures.
The Jasper lead reached 18 points, the largest of the afternoon, with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Iona trimmed that down to 12 after back-to-back trifectas from Camilion and Mwai, but it would be the Gaels' final points of the day. Iona went cold over the final three minutes of action and ultimately lost, 64-48, to Manhattan on Friday.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Dee-Dee Davis amassed a game-high 19 points, knocking down four-of-eight from beyond the arc.
- Athias was the leading scorer for Iona in her debut, registering 12 points in 25 minutes.
- Courtney Warley finished with a game-leading 10 rebounds, adding 14 points to record her sixth double-double of the season.
- Camilion, Warley and Emily LaPointe all handed out four assists.
- Pamela Miceus finished with a game-best three blocked shots. As a team, Iona finished with four.
- Camilion had five steals on the afternoon.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- As noted earlier, today was Iona's first game action in 42 days. It marks the longest streak of days without game action for a MAAC women's basketball team and, according to research, is second only to UC Davis' 59-day lull without a game this season.
- Athias scored 12 points in her debut for the Gaels, the only Iona player to finish in double figures. She added a rebound, steal and a block to her statline.
- Camilion's five steals were a game high, and it marked the eighth time this season she has led the squad in takeaways. Entering play, her 3.9 steals per game ranked third best in the NCAA.
- The Gaels scored 26 of their 48 points inside the painted area. Iona's bench contributed 25 points.
- Davis scored 14 of her 19 in the first half for the Jaspers. The Gaels limited Davis to just four points in the second half on 1-5 shooting.
- Manhattan dominated the glass, outrebounding Iona 42-25 total and 17-6 on the offensive end. The Jaspers recorded 21 second-chance points and limited the Gaels to zero.
- The two sides combined to shoot just five free throws on the afternoon. Hodge-Carr made two and Manhattan's Davis made the other three.
- All 12 members of the Maroon & Gold saw game action today. Eight Gaels registered points.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Niagara won its first road game of the season, defeating Rider 65-59.
- Marist took care of Siena, 69-44, recording conference victory number 11.
- Quinnipiac and Fairfield tipped off at 4:00 p.m. in Hamden, Connecticut.
UP NEXT
Iona and Manhattan meet again tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in Draddy Gymnasium. The Gaels return home next week to host Fairfield at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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