NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona University women's basketball team defeated Siena, 91-64, on Thursday morning at the Hynes Athletics Center. The Gaels shot 75.5% (37-49) from the floor in the victory, a single-game high in all of the NCAA this season.
THE RUNDOWN
It was all Iona all morning long inside a Hynes Athletics Center that was nearly filled with local elementary, middle and high schoolers that the Maroon & Gold gave plenty to cheer about. Iona opened up the contest by shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from beyond the arc and 19-of-23 overall from the field. The Gaels ended the half shooting 74.1 percent from the floor and leading by 20 points.
The Maroon & Gold managed to top its first-half performance, shooting a blistering 77.3% (17-22) in the second half, never letting off the gas pedal in a 27-point drubbing of the conference's leader in scoring offense this season. Four different Gaels scored in double figures and nine different scorers helped Iona register its highest scoring output in a single game since 2014.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Juana Camilion poured in 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting, the fifth time this season she has scored at least 20 points. Camilion shot a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range and the free throw line and notched a new career-high nine assists.
- Ketsia Athias registered her third double-double of the season, the ninth of her Iona career, scoring a season-high 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Athias shot 11-of-13, recording a new season-high in field goals made, and added a steal and a blocked shot.
- Kate Mager continued her hot shooting, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Mager is now 80-158 (50.6%) from three-point range this season, a tenth of a percentage point behind Gonzaga's Brynna Maxwell, the nation's leader. Mager also moved into a tie with Aaliyah Robinson for the second-most three-point field goals made in a single season (80) in Iona women's basketball history.
- Thoranna Hodge-Carr rounded out Iona's double-digit scorers, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. She stuffed the stat sheet, adding five rebounds, a new career-high seven assists and two steals.
THE OPPONENT
- Anajah Brown scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
- Valencia Fontenelle-Posson contributed 13 points, five assists and three rebounds.
TEAM STATS
- Iona nearly set another NCAA single-game record, shooting 37-of-49 (75.5%) from the field in the victory, just shy of Vanderbilt's NCAA single-game record (76.2%) set against Alabama back on February 4, 2007.
- Iona set a single-game high for field goal percentage, topping Bethune-Cookman's 72.9% shooting performance. The 75.5 percent mark from the floor tied Wyoming (Jan. 30, 2010) for the second-highest field goal percentage in Division I history and tied for the highest in NCAA history (min. 45 attempts), per HerHoopStats.
- The Gaels' hot shooting included separate individual stretches of eight straight field goal makes and nine straight made shots. The Maroon & Gold ended the contest by connecting on 13 of their final 14 shots.
- Iona scored 29 first quarter points, its highest scoring quarter of the season. The Gaels' 51 first-half points were its most in a first half this season. The 74.1% (20-27) mark from the field in the first half was its most efficient mark in a half this season until the Gaels shot an even better 77.3% (17-22) in the second half.
- For the second time this season, Iona posted at least 90 points. It marks the first time since the 1987-88 season and just the fourth time in the program's 50-year history that the Gaels have scored 90 or more points in multiple games in the same season.
- The Gaels dished out a season-high 28 assists, the most by an Iona team since registering 30 in a victory over Fairfield on February 23, 2005, a span of 541 games.
- The Maroon & Gold improved to 8-0 at home in league play and 11-1 overall at the Hynes Athletics Center in the 2022-23 season.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- With the win, Iona (19-5 overall, 14-1 MAAC) remains atop the conference standings. Iona also clinched a top-five seed and an opening round bye in the 2023 MAAC Basketball Championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
- Camilion became the sixth Iona women's basketball player to eclipse 1,500 career points. She now has 1,513 points for her career, remaining in sole possession of No. 6 on the program's all-time scoring leaderboard. She is 36 points shy of passing Megan Cobb for fifth-most points all-time in Iona women's basketball history.
- Iona's starting five of Athias, Camilion, Gomez, Hodge-Carr and Mager made their 23rd overall and 15th consecutive appearance together this season.
- Head coach Billi Chambers earned her 134th career victory overall and 98th in conference play.
- Today was the 78th all-time meeting between Iona and Siena. Siena still owns a 45-33 edge in the overall series history, though the Gaels have won 12 of the last 17 meetings in New Rochelle.
- Today's victory was Iona's 13th consecutive, its longest win streak since winning 18 straight in the 2013-14 season.
- The Gaels' 14-1 start in MAAC play is the team's best mark since the 2013-14 season when Iona began league play with a 17-1 mark.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Mount St. Mary's hosts Quinnipiac at 7:00 p.m. from Knott Arena.
- Manhattan welcomes Marist to Draddy Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
- Rider and Saint Peter's do battle at 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium.
UP NEXT
Iona goes on the road to visit Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, February 18. The Gaels and the Mountaineers tip-off at 1:00 p.m. in what will be Iona's first-ever trip to Emmitsburg, Maryland to face Mount St. Mary's at Knott Arena.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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