NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team lost a nail-biter, 71-69, on Thursday evening at the Hynes Center.
Olivia Vezaldenos (23 points) and
Shyan Mwai (16 points) both reached new season-highs in scoring in the loss.
Iona opened the night up on a torrid pace offensively, jumping out to an early 9-2 lead, which grew to 14-5 just over six minutes into the contest. Consecutive baskets for Manhattan trimmed Iona's lead, but the Gaels would finish the opening quarter strong, leading 18-11 after 10 minutes.
The second quarter was action-packed and full of scoring on both sides. After shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the opening frame, the Gaels shot 5-15 in the second quarter, but all five makes were from beyond the arc. Vezaldenos was responsible for four of the five made baskets, as well as Iona's first 15 points in the period. The Maroon & Gold built a 12-point lead three minutes in, but Manhattan ripped off 13 straight points over two-plus minutes to take a 28-27 lead. Back-to-back triples from Vezaldenos put Iona back in front and kick started an 11-0 run for the Gaels. When the dust settled in the second quarter, Iona took a 38-30 advantage into the locker room.
The third quarter was dead even scoring wise. Ketsia Athias got involved offensively for Iona, scoring three times in the frame. Juana Camilion knocked down a trifecta with 2:39 to play that put the Maroon & Gold in front 50-37. Manhattan whittled the lead back down to eight points by the end of the quarter.
The Jaspers surged back early on in the fourth, pulling within one point after a Jenna Jordan free throw with just under seven minutes to play. A three from Mwai made it a two-possession game again, but Manhattan broke even after a Dee Dee Davis layup. The Gaels grabbed the lead once more after an Athias make, then Warley knotted the score at 59-59 with 5:28 to play.
The Gaels relinquished the lead after a Sydney Watkins trey with 2:39 to play. Jordan hit one-of-two from the charity stripe to make it 64-62 in favor of the Jaspers with two minutes remaining. Vezaldenos made a clutch basket, floating in the lane and sinking it to even the contest once more. A pair of free throws from Camilion with 67 seconds to play made it 66-64 Iona. Watkins knocked down another one from beyond the arc with under a minute to play to put her side in front.
Down the stretch, Manhattan made just two of its four free throws, giving the Maroon & Gold a shot with the final possession. Vezaldenos made the most of it, catching the inbounds pass and sinking her sixth three-pointer of the night to tie it at 69 all with seven seconds on the clock. Following the review, Manhattan's Brazil Harvey-Carr put home a shot from the baseline near her bench with little time left. Another review slowed things down, eventually giving the Gaels 1.5 seconds for a half-court heave, which came up empty and ended the game.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Vezaldenos finished with a season-high 23 points and six made three-pointers. Five of her six trifectas came in the first half. She ended the night two points and one triple shy of her career best, set back on January 1, 2021 at Niagara.
- Mwai poured in a season-high 16 points, adding six rebounds as well as three assists. Her rebound mark was a season best and was one shy of her career high.
- Athias scored 18 points on 9-12 shooting. She also stuffed the stat sheet with six rebounds, four assists, a block and two steals. In four career games against Manhattan, Athias is averaging 14 points per game. She scored 18 in both games against the Jaspers this season.
- Iona's 69 points were a season-best for the team. They also made a season-high 11 threes and dished out 20 assists, the team's most since January 21, 2016 against Niagara.
- Iona led for 35-plus minutes, while Manhattan held the advantage in the scoring column for just 1:53. The Jaspers lead was never larger than three points; the Gaels led by as many as 13 points late in the third period.
- As a team, the Maroon & Gold shot 45.3 percent from the field, 0.2 percent shy of its season-best mark. The Gaels were an impressive 52.4 percent from deep, its best clip of the season.
- Manhattan went to the line 30 times, the most by an Iona opponent this year. The Jaspers converted on just 18 tries from the charity stripe, resulting in the third-lowest percentage (60.0) by a Gael opponent this season.
- Iona has now lost 12 straight contests to Manhattan. The Gaels are now 17-25 at home against the Jaspers and 9-7 inside the Hynes Center.
UP NEXT
Iona hits the road to face Rider on Saturday, January 29 at 5:00 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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