NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona University women's basketball team earned its fourth straight victory Sunday afternoon, beating Sacred Heart, 60-50. The Gaels had seven different scorers contribute and the team connected on 12 three-pointers in front of the home crowd at the Hynes Athletic Center.
 
Graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri recorded a game high 18 points for the Gaels. Sophomore Petra Oborilova contributed 12 points, a career-high eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo registered nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.  

THE RUNDOWN

Playing in front of the home crowd for the first time in 28 days, graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri opened the game with the first five points for the Maroon & Gold. The run continued as the Gaels started the game on a 10-0 advantage through three minutes of play. The Pioneers countered with a 13-2 closing stretch led by five points from Ny'Ceara Pryor to take a 13-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
 
Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo gave the Gaels back the lead, 15-13 with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second. Sacred Heart responded with back-to-back jumpers to regain the 17-15 lead with 5:25 left in the quarter. The Gaels answered quickly with a strong 9-0 run over the next 2:21 to take a 24-17 lead. Iona got a free throw from DeAngelo, three-pointers from sophomore Ale Civera and Oborilova and freshman Mya Zaccagnini picked up layup to end the run. A 3-0 run from SHU cut the lead to four but the Gaels ended the half with a three-pointer from sophomore Noa Givon for the 27-20 advantage into the intermission.
 
Out of the halftime break, Iona connected on pair of triples from Oborilova and a pull up three by Otkhmezuri in a 9-2 run that forced Sacred Heart to call a timeout with 7:01 to go. From there both teams were gridlocked on scoring from there, with a 14-14 ledger in points scored for the final 6:24. The Gaels took a 50-36 lead into the final quarter. Iona shot 55.6% (5-of-9) from downtown in the period. Givon, Oborilova and Otkhmezuri led the team with six points in the third.
 
Iona opened the final stanza with freshman Zoey Ward connecting on a three-pointer. The Pioneers answered with a 9-0 stretch over the next 3:32 to cut the deficit to eight, 53-45 with 3:57 remaining. The Gaels held up against the SHU press, with a 7-3 scoring run with Otkhmezuri recording all seven points for a 60-48 lead with 2:11 remaining. Iona held Sacred Heart to just one field goal in the closing stretch for the 60-50 victory.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Otkhmezuri posted her sixth game in double figures this season. She was an efficient 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from distance.
• Oborilova scored in double figures for the second straight game and third time this season. She went 4-of-9 from the field and 3-of-7 from downtown. She also recorded a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Gaels on the glass.
• DeAngelo and junior Ella Fajardo led Iona in assists, dishing out three assists apiece.
• Ward recorded a career-high seven points to go with three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench.
• Zaccagnini added two points, to go with a career-high three rebounds and two assists for Iona.

THE OPPONENT

• Ny'Ceara Pryor led Sacred Heart with an all-around game, recording 16 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
• Nalyce Dudley also finished in double figures, adding 11 points for the Pioneers.
• Sierra Johnson added six points and eight rebounds for SHU.

TEAM STATS

• Iona shot 39.2% from the floor while Sacred Heart was 32.1% from the field.
• The Gaels shot 42.9% from three-point range while holding the Pioneers to 17.4% from distance.
• Sacred Heart out rebounded Iona, 39-35 for the contest.
• The Pioneers held the advantage on turnovers, committing 13 to the Gaels 18 turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona improves to 9-3 all-time against Sacred Heart. Both teams will square off regularly as the Pioneers join the MAAC in 2024-25.
• Head Coach Ang Szumilo improves to 7-4 against Sacred Heart. Her record against NEC foes is now 52-20 for her career.
• The Gaels 12 three-pointers were the second highest for a single game this season. The first was the home opening 80-59 win over LIU when the team connected on 13 triples.
• Iona's defense held Sacred Heart to just 17.4% clip from distance, a new opponent low for the year.

UP NEXT

The Gaels begin Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play on Saturday, December 16 against preseason favorite, Niagara. Tip-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Hynes Athletic Center.