WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ - The Iona College women's basketball team defeated Monmouth 69-65 in a thriller on Saturday afternoon at the OceanFirst Bank Center. For the second straight game four Gaels finished in double-figures, led by
Juana Camilion's 19 points.
The first quarter of action was a back-and-forth affair that carried over into the second period. The largest lead of the opening 10 minutes was five points, which was held by Monmouth just over three minutes in. Stella Clark scored seven of Monmouth's 13 first quarter points, as the Hawks owned a narrow one-point advantage after the first stanza. The Gaels led briefly following two straight buckets and a free throw, but Brianna Livingston put the Hawks ahead in the final minute.
Iona flipped the script early on in the second quarter, grabbing a slim four-point lead after baskets from Camilion and Shyan Mwai. An 8-0 run by the Hawks that spanned three-plus minutes gave them a 26-19 lead, the largest advantage on either side in the first half. The Maroon & Gold scored 10 of the period's final 13 points, sending the game to intermission even at 29 apiece.
The third quarter was huge for Iona, who outscored Monmouth 24-18 in the frame. The Gaels grabbed a seven-point advantage, 45-38, at the midway point of the quarter and maintained it for a majority of the final five minutes. Over the final 90 seconds of the period Monmouth managed to get within four points, but two late free throws from Marina Cenis made it a 53-47 game in favor of Iona heading into the fourth.
Iona's six-point lead heading into fourth quarter was extended to nine points after a Camilion basket, a steal by Thoranna Hodge-Carr and a fast-break layup by Mwai. Monmouth turned the ball over on the next possession and burned a timeout with 7:22 left in regulation. Points from the Hawks were followed by points from Iona, keeping the lead at nine points as time ticked away.
With just over under minutes to play, Monmouth used a 9-0 run to tie the contest at 63 all. Iona's scoring drought approached three minutes, but Hodge-Carr ended it with a clutch three on the ensuing possession following Monmouth's game-tying basket. Neither side scored for an entire minute of game action until Mwai converted on one-of-two free throws with 29 seconds to play. Eventually, Monmouth had possession with 10.9 seconds to play and trailing by two points. The Gaels forced a five-second violation, never allowing the Hawks to inbound the ball, leading to game-sealing free throws from Camilion and a victory with huge implications in the MAAC standings.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona notched its third straight victory, moving to 10-13 overall and 8-10 in league play. Iona's 10 overall wins and eight conference victories this season are its most since the 2016-17 campaign.
- For the second straight game the Gaels featured four scorers in double-figures. Camilion (19), Mwai (15), Hodge-Carr (11) and Athias (10) combined to score 55 of Iona's 69 points.
- Camilion and Athias both finished one rebound shy of double-doubles, pulling down a game-high nine boards each. Camilion added a game-leading five assists while Athias registered a new career-high six blocked shots.
- Hodge-Carr reached double-digit points for the fourth time this season and the second time in the past three contests. Iona is 5-0 when Hodge-Carr scores at least 10 points.
- The Gaels surpassed 60 points for the third straight game and are now 8-1 this season when they score at least 60 points. Iona's 69 points matched a team-high, set earlier this season in a loss to Manhattan.
- The four-point margin of victory is Iona's smallest this season. The Gaels defeated Bryant by the same margin in the season-opener back on November 9.
- Iona finished with a field goal percentage of 51.9 percent on 28-54 shooting. It marks just the second time this year and 15th time in the Billi Chambers era that the Maroon & Gold finished with a field goal percentage north of 50 percent.
- The victory pushed Iona into a three-way tie with Monmouth and Siena for sixth place in the MAAC standings.
- Today's contest marked the first time that the Gaels found themselves tied at the halftime break. Iona is now 30-16 under Chambers when the game enters the second half in a tie.
- The Gaels now own a 14-12 advantage in the overall series history with the Hawks. The victory today was Iona's eighth all-time and fifth straight in West Long Branch.
UP NEXT
Iona heads to Western New York for a two-game swing against Niagara (March 3, 2:00 p.m.) and Canisius (March 5, 1:00 p.m.) to close the regular season.
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