NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball defeated Saint Peter's 63-44 on senior day at the Hynes Center on Saturday.
Ketsia Athias stole the show on the court, posting a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double effort in the victory.
Saint Peter's led early on in the contest, but the final 35 minutes of action were paced solely by Iona. Sky Castro converted on a layup on the first possession of the afternoon, then Rachel Kuhl followed with three makes from downtown. The Peacocks led 11-4 at the midway point of the quarter, but were held scoreless for the final 5:54 of action. The Maroon & Gold ripped off 13 consecutive points to end the frame leading 17-11.
Kuhl ended an almost seven-minute scoring drought with a jumper to begin play in the second. A basket by Victoria Ikenasio brought Saint Peter's within a possession of the lead, but Thoranna Hodge-Carr buried a trifecta to up the margin in the scoring column. Back-to-back scores by the Peacocks evened the contest at 20-20, but Iona's defense once again held its opponent without a point over the final five-plus minutes. The Gaels ended the half on a 9-0 run, leading 29-20 at the break.
Iona's offense had an answer for every Saint Peter's third quarter bucket, typically stringing together multiple scores in response. Iona's lead was never smaller than seven points in the period, extending to as large as 18 points after a Judith Gomez triple.
Iona's lead grew to 20 points in the fourth quarter on a late basket from Athias, concluding her dominant day. Jessica Rogers checked in late, putting home a top-of-the-key three to put the icing on the cake of a good day in Gael Nation.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Athias' double-double was her third this season. She added six assists, a career best, and three blocked shots, matching her career high.
- Hodge-Carr chipped in 12 points, the third time this season she has scored in double-figures. Iona is 3-0 this season and 4-0 all-time in games where Hodge-Carr scores at least 10 points. She also matched her career-high with four steals.
- As a team, Iona finished with a season-low nine turnovers. The Gaels forced the Peacocks into 16 turnovers, converting them into 18 points.
- Iona assisted on 19 of its 25 made baskets, finishing one assist shy of a team-best mark for the season.
- The Maroon & Gold held edges in paint points (32-16), bench points (43-21) and fast-break points (11-3).
- The Gaels shot 45 percent from the field and are now 6-1 this season when shooting 45 percent or better.
- With the win today, Iona improves to 14-5 under head coach Billi Chambers against Saint Peter's. The victory was the Gaels' first against the Peacocks since January 20, 2020.
UP NEXT
Iona hosts Rider on Thursday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN3. It will serve as the Gaels' final home game of the 2021-22 regular season.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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