JERSEY CITY, NJ - The Iona College women's basketball team was edged by Saint Peter's, 54-53, on Saturday afternoon at the Run Baby Run Arena.
Juana Camilion matched a season-best with 18 points and Izzy Lipinski set a new career-high, scoring 12 points on 6-9 shooting in the loss.
Despite a fast pace early on, things started slow offensively for both sides on Saturday. By the midway point of the opening stanza, the two teams had shot a combined 2-10 from the floor. Over the final three-plus minutes of the period the two sides scored 12 points. Lipinski gave the Gaels an 8-7 lead, but buckets from Kourtney Crane and Kendrea Williams to end the quarter put Saint Peter's in front, 12-8, after one.
The Peacocks expanded their lead to six points, 14-8, to begin the second quarter. The Gaels scored three baskets in a 56-second span to tie the game and force Saint Peter's into a timeout with 6:30 to play in the half. Saint Peter's held Iona scoreless for just about three minutes out of the timeout, building another six-point lead during the stretch before back-to-back baskets from Camilion and Shyan Mwai made it a one-possession game again. The two offenses went quiet for another three minute stretch, which Mwai ended by knocking down a trifecta and giving Iona its first lead since late in the first quarter. It was short lived however; Saint Peter's re-took the lead heading into the locker room when Binta Salawu buried a three with a second left on the clock to make it 23-21 in favor of the Peacocks.
Kassondra Brown was a force to be reckoned with to begin the second half, scoring seven of Saint Peter's first eight points and helping her side maintain the lead. Iona battled back however, finding a way to make it a one-possession game on two occasions, culminating with an Lipinski and-one that would tie the game at 36 apiece with just over a minute to play in the third. After Kourtney Crane put Saint Peter's back on top late, it was Lipinski and Camilion combining to push Iona back in front by period's end.
Lipinski continued to be a menace down low, scoring inside and drawing a foul, completing the three-point play to grace her team with a four-point lead to open the fourth quarter. Exactly one minute into the final frame, Brown put home a pair from the charity stripe to even the contest at 42-42. Those free throws kicked off a 13-2 run for the home team that spanned 6:23, seeing the Gaels shoot just 1-8 from the floor and commit three turnovers. The Peacocks built a seven-point lead with 3:25 to play, but Iona needed just 85 seconds to make it a one-possession game again. Mwai's driving layup made it 51-48 with 95 ticks remaining. The Maroon & Gold came up empty on their next possession, allowing Saint Peter's to add to the lead from the line. Camilion made it a one-point deficit with a three from the top of the key that rolled in, but ultimately, Iona could not overcome Saint Peter's and fell, 54-53.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Camilion matched her season-best scoring effort with 18 points. She has reached double-digit points in six straight contests and 11 of her 13 games played this season.
- Lipinski did all of her damage in the second half, ending her day with a new career-best in points (12) and field goals made (6) and matched her personal best with two steals.
- The two aforementioned players combined to score 33 of Iona's 53 total points this afternoon. Four other Gaels combined to score the other 20 points.
- Saint Peter's trip of Kassondra Brown, Kourtney Crane and Kendrea Williams combined to score 51 of Saint Peter's 54 points. The Peacocks' other three points came from Binta Salawu.
- As a team, Iona shot 4-15 from beyond the arc. Saint Peter's scored at a 50% clip from three-point range, knocking down seven of its 14 attempts.
- The Gaels finished with a better overall field goal percentage (42.0) than the Peacocks (37.7). Iona is now 0-4 this season in games where they shoot between 40.0-44.9 percent from the field.
- The lead changed hands nine times over the course of 40 minutes, seeing the score tied on three separate occasions. Iona led for just seven minutes and change, while the Peacocks held the advantage in the scoring column for more than 29 minutes of game action.
- Saint Peter's has now topped Iona in five straight matchups. Prior to that, the Maroon & Gold had won 22 of the last 23 games, dating back to the 2008-09 season.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold wrap up the season series with Manhattan at home next Thursday, January 27. The Gaels and the Jaspers tip at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3 at the Hynes Center.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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