DELAND, Fla.— The Iona University women's basketball team closed out its two-game stint in Florida with a 71-62 setback to Stetson on Saturday afternoon at the Edmunds Center.

THE RUNDOWN

Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, Stetson opened the game with an 11-3 run through 7:16 of action. The Gaels got going after the media timeout closing the first quarter on a 7-2 stretch. Iona capitalized at the charity stripe as junior Ella Fajardo recorded a pair and sophomore Noa Givon converted three free throws. Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo picked up a layup in the final seconds to push the score to 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
 
After an opening triple from the Hatters, Iona settled in using a 6-2 run in just over two minutes of action. DeAngelo capped the run with an old fashioned three-point play to cut the deficit to two, 18-16 at the 5:40 mark. Stetson controlled the pace for the final minutes of the first half, outscoring Iona 8-4 to take a 26-20 lead into the intermission.

Stetson continued to hold the steady lead in the third quarter, eventually building to a 12-point lead at 44-32 with 1:52 to go in the period. Iona's offense started to pick things up going 3-of-5 from the floor in the final minutes of the third, led by five points including a buzzer beating triple from Givon put the score at 49-39 after three periods of play.
 
The fourth period began with both teams exchanging baskets, with the home team still holding a commanding lead. Stetson's lead eventually grew to 13 at the 6:30 mark in the quarter, prompting an Iona timeout. The Gaels responded out of the timeout, using a 10-3 run to get within six, 61-55 at 3:56 left in the quarter. That run prompted a Hatter's timeout to regroup. Fajardo scored six points during the run and graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri added four points. Stetson settled down after the timeout, keeping the Gaels at bay with a 10-7 scoring advantage over the final minutes of the game to seal the 71-62 victory.

IONA PERFORMERS

• DeAngelo led the Gaels in both points and rebounds with a game-high 17 points and nine boards for the near double-double effort.
• Fajardo registered 15 points including three made triples. She also registered a team-high three assists.
• Otkhmezuri recorded 14 points to go with her five rebounds and one block.
• Givon tallied 11 points, going 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep. She also grabbed four rebounds and a team-high two blocks.

THE OPPONENT

• The Hatters also had four scorers reach double figures for the game.
• Jaelyn Talley led the team with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
• Jamiya Turner recorded 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with her team-high six rebounds.

TEAM STATS

• Stetson outshot Iona 55.8% to 36.2%. The Gaels capitalized at the free throw line going 12-of-15 while the Hatters shot 9-of-17 from the charity stripe.
• Iona held the lead on the glass for the first time this season, outrebounding Stetson 33 to 30.
• Both teams committed 10 turnovers apiece for the game.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Saturday was the first ever meeting between both programs.
• DeAngelo led Iona in scoring and rebounding for the second straight game with her near double-double effort.
• Fajardo recorded her highest scoring output as a member of the Maroon & Gold. She finished one point shy of her career-high of 16 points set last November at FDU.
• Otkhmezuri scored in double-digits for the third straight game.
• Givon posted 11 points in back-to-back games, reaching double-digits in just 15 minutes of action off the bench.  

UP NEXT

The Gaels will enjoy a little break for Thanksgiving before traveling to Wagner on Monday, November 27 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at the Spiro Sports Center.