HAMDEN, CT - The Iona University women's basketball team defeated Quinnipiac, 47-42, on Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Arena.
Juana Camilion registered her second consecutive double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds in the victory.
THE RUNDOWN
After a slow start by both sides (11 combined points over the opening five minutes), the two teams began to pick up the pace down the stretch in the first quarter. Out of the media timeout, Kate Mager converted on her first try from deep to make it 10-6 in favor of Iona. A Mikala Morris layup and the foul with 90 seconds remaining in the opening stanza gave the Bobcats their first lead, 13-12. Natalia Otkhmezuri's pull-up jumper in the final minute put the Gaels back in front, 14-13.
The Maroon & Gold clamped down defensively in the second quarter, limiting the Bobcats to just five points on 2-of-11 shooting. Iona built its lead to nine points, 27-18, entering halftime. The Gaels led 17-16 with more than six minutes until the half, but ended the period on a 10-2 run to push the advantage to nine points at the intermission.
Quinnipiac's cold spell continued into the third quarter; the Bobcats started the second half shooting 1-of-13 posting just four total points before Jackie Grisdale's corner three with just over a minute to play. Iona's lead had blossomed to 14 points before the trifecta, the largest for either side to that point.
Leading by nine to begin the fourth quarter, Iona's advantage in the scoring column slowly dwindled. The Bobcats held the Gaels scoreless for the first six-plus minutes of the final frame, using a 6-0 run to make it a one-possession game. A back-door cut and layup by Kate Mager with 3:47 to play accounted for Iona's first points of the period and pushed the Gaels' lead to 38-33. Cur'Tiera Haywood buried a trifecta with 76 seconds remaining to once again make it a one-possession game. Camilion, Mager and Thoranna Hodge-Carr combined to go 6-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute and close out a fifth straight victory for the Maroon & Gold.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Camilion posted her second straight double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down a career best 13 rebounds. Camilion had registered one career double-double in her first 112 games played as a Gael before logging double-digit points and rebounds in her last two contests.
- Mager scored a game-high 12 points, adding five rebounds and remained perfect from the free-throw line with a pair of clutch makes in the final minute of the win.
- Athias led the team with two assists and two blocked shots. She played just 26 minutes and fouled out for the second time in her Maroon & Gold career.
THE OPPONENT
- Haywood posted a team-high 11 points, the only Bobcat to score in double figures. Haywood shot 3-of-6 from the field and was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
- Ella O'Donnell corralled a team-high seven rebounds. Four other Bobcats registered six rebounds: Baskerville, Caverly, Haywood and Morris.
- Grisdale dished out a game-high three assists. Baskerville registered a game-high three steals.
TEAM STATS
- Iona held Quinnipiac to a season-low 42 points, marking the third straight contest that the Gaels have held their opponent under 45 points. The Bobcats shot 27.5 percent (14-51) from the floor, a season-low for an Iona opponent in both field goals made and field goal percentage.
- The two teams combined to make 11-of-45 (24.4%) from the field in the second half. Both Iona and Quinnipiac made six shots in the first quarter, the high mark for field goals in any of the four quarters.
- The Gaels converted on just 3-of-10 free throws through the first three quarters, but shot an efficient 7-of-8 from the line in the final frame.
- Iona managed just five assists as a team, matching a season low.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- With the win, Iona (11-5 overall, 6-1 MAAC) remains atop the conference standings.
- Camilion now has 1,364 points for her career, 51 points behind a tie for ninth place on the program's all-time scoring leaderboard.
- Athias, scoring at a .558 clip in her Iona career, is on pace to break Linda McKetney's program record for career field goal percentage (55.4%).
- Head coach Billi Chambers earned her 126th career victory overall and 90th in conference play.
- Iona swept the season series with Quinnipiac for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
- Today's victory was Iona's 11th of the season, matching the Gaels' season-long win total from a year prior in just 16 games. It also marked Iona's fifth consecutive win, its longest win streak since winning six straight in the 2016-17 season.
- The Gaels' 6-1 start is the team's best mark to begin MAAC play since the 2016 season when Iona began the road to the program's first-ever MAAC Championship with an identical record.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Mount St. Mary's topped Canisius, 68-58, at Knott Arena.
- Siena erupted for a 94-45 victory over Saint Peter's at UHY Arena.
- Niagara upended Rider, 67-55, at Alumni Gymnasium.
- Marist hosts Fairfield at 7:00 p.m. at McCann Arena.
UP NEXT
Iona closes the book on its season series with Rider, hosting the Broncs at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 19. The Gaels have won six straight against the Broncs.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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