NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College women's basketball team defeated Canisius, 66-55, on Thursday night at the Hynes Center. Career-high efforts by
Ketsia Athias (24 points and 15 rebounds) and
Thoranna Hodge-Carr (15 points) lifted the Maroon & Gold to a second straight victory.
Iona kicked things off by scoring 13 of the first 15 points, leading 13-3 after seven minutes of action. Athias scored the Gaels' first six points of the period before Olivia Vezaldenos, Hodge-Carr and Shyan Mwai got involved offensively. Canisius used three straight baskets to climb back within three points, but a late layup from Juana Camilion helped Iona to a 15-10 lead after one quarter.
The Griffs did major damage from beyond the arc in the second quarter, knocking down six trifectas in the frame. Nearly every bucket from Iona was answered by a three by the visitors. Shaunae Brown's three-pointer with 6:34 to play in the half gave Canisius its first lead of the night. Iona responded with six straight points to take a 27-22 lead, though Canisius managed to keep it a one-possession game from that point on. Iona held a 33-30 edge at the halftime break in New Rochelle.
The first and third quarter scoring charts were similar, with Iona dominating the opening seven minutes of each. After a Dani Haskell basket opened the scoring in the third frame, the Maroon & Gold scored eight straight points, all layups, to build a 41-32 lead. Cheyenne Stubbs interrupted the run with a layup of her own, but the Gaels scored another six straight to open a 47-34 advantage. Iona was responsible for 14 of the quarter's first 18 points. Athias' layup in the final minute of action made it 51-39 in favor of the Gaels heading into the fourth quarter.
Early struggles offensively in the fourth quarter for the Gaels allowed the Griffs to claw their way back into the game, pulling within five points of the lead with 6:23 to play. A layup from Hodge-Carr and two free throws by Isabelle Lipinski pushed the lead back to nine points after the final media timeout of the evening. A Dani Haskell bucket ended a two-minute scoring drought for Canisius and was followed by a trifecta, pulling Canisius within four points with just over three minutes remaining. It would be the closest the Griffs would get within the lead for the remainder of the night, seeing the Maroon & Gold score nine of the final 11 points and grabbing a 66-55 victory.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Athias garnered new career bests in points (24), field goals made (12) and rebounds (15). Her 12 made baskets and 85.7% field goal percentage are tied for the second-best and third-best marks, respectively, by a MAAC athlete this year.
- Hodge-Carr surpassed her previous career-high in points (11 on March 5, 2021 at Monmouth) with 15 points on a new personal-best seven field goals made. Hodge-Carr missed just one field goal, scoring at an 87.5% clip, second-best by an individual in the conference this season.
- Iona's 66 points are its most in a victory since the home-opening 67-45 victory over Winthrop. The Gaels have scored 60+ points in five games this season and are now 4-1 this season and 82-31 under head coach Billi Chambers when scoring at least 60 points.
- As a team, Iona set new season-bests with 29 made field goals and a 54.7% field goal percentage. The Gaels' 19 assists were one shy of its season-high mark, set against Manhattan on January 27.
- The Maroon & Gold registered 11 steals, the fifth time this season they've amassed double-digits in takeaways. Five of Iona's six wins have featured at least 10 steals, the lone outlier being nine against Marist on January 20.
- February marks Iona's second-winningest month during Chambers' tenure, with tonight's victory being her 32nd all time in the second month of the calendar year.
- The Gaels improve to 38-27 all-time against Canisius and 11-3 under Chambers against the Griffs. Tonight's win marks three straight for Iona over Canisius and is the 19th for the Maroon & Gold in the last 25 meetings.
UP NEXT
Iona hops on the bus and heads up to Loudonville to wrap up the season series against Siena on Saturday, February 5. The Gaels and the Saints are set for a 2:00 p.m. tip in the UHY Center.
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