NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team fell to Niagara, 59-45, on Thursday evening at the Hynes Center.
Olivia Vezaldenos paced the Iona offense with 13 points, adding eight rebounds.
Niagara was hot from behind the arc, hitting three shots from deep in the opening three minutes of play to open an early 11-4 lead. Back-to-back triples from Juana Camilion and Shyan Mwai in the closing minutes made it a one-point game, but a layup by Angel Parker with 90 seconds to play made it 15-12 after one quarter.
The Purple Eagles used a 9-0 run to begin the frame to pad its lead to nine points. Another nine-point offensive spurt over the final 93 ticks of the first half made it a nine-point game at the break.
The lead for Niagara grew to 14 points, the largest of the evening, after a jumper by Aaliyah Parker with seven minutes to play. A 12-4 run for Iona's offense helped them battle back, trailing 41-35 with just under two minutes to play in the period. A pair of late free throws by Marina Cenis made it a 42-37 game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Maroon & Gold battled, pulling within one possession of the lead on two occasions early on in the fourth. Isabelle Lipinski's layup to open the scoring made it 42-39, then a basket by Thoranna Hodge-Carr with six minutes to play again whittled Niagara's lead to three points. Niagara's defense and its free throw shooting would be the difference down the stretch. The Purple Eagles scored 13 of the game's final 15 points over the final five-plus minutes of play, sealing a victory.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Vezaldenos scored a team-high 13 points, finishing two rebounds shy of her first career double-double. She has now reached double-figures in four straight contests and 12 total games this season.
- Sisters Aaliyah and Angel Parker combined to score 34 points. Aaliyah's 21 points were a game high.
- Ketsia Athias returned to the floor for Iona, pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. She scored just once on two shots, adding two blocks on the defensive end.
- Camilion dished out six assists, a team high. She has finished with at least five assists in five games this season and 18 times in her career.
- The Gaels shot just two free throws, both of which were converted by Cenis. Niagara shot 19, knocking down 13. The Purple Eagles made eight of their nine attempts from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
- Niagara forced Iona into 25 turnovers, tied for the most by the Gaels this year. The Purple Eagles turned the 25 giveaways into 23 points.
- Iona limited Niagara to its lowest scoring total (59 points) since January 20, when the Purple Eagles fell 61-56 at Monmouth. Niagara's offense, the number one scoring offense in the MAAC, was held under 60 points for just the third time this season.
- The two teams are now dead even in the series history, with both sides each owning 33 victories. Iona has not defeated Niagara in New Rochelle since the 2016-17 season.
UP NEXT
Iona hosts Saint Peter's on Saturday, February 19 at 1:00 p.m. in the Hynes Center. The Gaels will honor five seniors: Jazmin Benn, Hannah King, Shyan Mwai, Jessica Rogers and Olivia Vezaldenos prior to the contest.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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