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Iona University Athletics

Kate Mager
Joe D'Aloisio - Iona Athletics
59
Winner Iona Iona 21-5,16-1 MAAC
53
Manhattan MC 11-16,8-10 MAAC
Winner
Iona Iona
21-5,16-1 MAAC
59
Final
53
Manhattan MC
11-16,8-10 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Iona Iona 12 10 16 21 59
Manhattan MC 12 17 10 14 53

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jack Clark

Iona WBB Clinches No. 1 Seed With Win at Manhattan

RIVERDALE, NY - The Iona University women's basketball team defeated Manhattan, 59-53, on Thursday evening at Draddy Gymnasium. The victory extended Iona's win streak to 15 straight games, clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2023 MAAC Basketball Championship and at least a share of the 2023 MAAC Regular Season Championship.

THE RUNDOWN

Iona found itself in uncharted waters, trailing for a majority of the evening to the Manhattan Jaspers, but found a way to grind out a crucial victory. There were multiple momentum changing plays, but the one that stood out on Thursday evening was a gutsy challenge by head coach Billi Chambers in the fourth quarter.

Juana Camilion, playing with four fouls, stepped in front of a driving Dee Dee Davis and was whistled for a blocking foul that seemingly ended her night while simultaneously sending Davis to the charity stripe with a chance to tie the game. Chambers asked for a review and the referees consulted with replay technology and overturned the call. The charge turned possession back over to Iona and led directly to a trifecta by Camilion that extended the Gaels' lead to five points with just under five minutes to play.

Manhattan once again had a chance to tie the game from the free throw line, but Bella Nascimento missed the second try with 47 seconds to play. Iona came up empty on its next possession and after a Manhattan timeout, the Jaspers committed an end-line infraction on the ensuing inbounds with the shot clock turned off and 19 seconds to play. Clinging onto a one-point lead, Iona's Kate Mager was fouled off the ball by Davis, an intentional foul that gave the Gaels two shots and possession of the ball. Mager sank both and Camilion followed suit at the line to seal the contest and allow Iona to escape with a milestone victory for both the program and coach Chambers.

IONA PERFORMERS

  • Ketsia Athias registered her third straight double-double, finishing with 13 points and 14 rebounds. She added four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
  • Kate Mager paced Iona in scoring, pouring in 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Mager is 20-for-20 from the free throw line this season.
  • Judith Gomez scored a career-high 13 points, the fourth double-digit scoring game of career. Gomez connected on 3-of-4 trifectas in 37 minutes played.
  • Juana Camilion shot 3-of-15 from the floor, ending the evening with 11 points.

THE OPPONENT

  • Dee Dee Davis poured in a game-high 22 points, shooting 6-of-20 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line. Davis was responsible for drawing 13 of the 19 fouls that Iona committed and also added 13 rebounds and six assists.
  • Bella Nascimento scored 10 first-half points, but was limited to just one point in the second.
  • Brazil Harvey-Carr and Petra Juric contributed seven points apiece.

TEAM STATS

  • Iona trailed by double-digits in the second quarter, erasing deficits in both the third and fourth quarter to win its 15th straight contest. The back-and-forth affair featured 12 lead changes and four ties, seeing Manhattan lead for 20-plus minutes of game action.
  • As a team, Iona shot under 40 percent for the second straight contest and just the fourth time all season that the Gaels were held under 40 percent from the field.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

  • With the win, Iona (21-5 overall, 16-1 MAAC) clinched the No. 1 seed in the 2023 MAAC Basketball Championship and at least a share of the 2023 MAAC Regular Season Championship. One more win would give Iona the MAAC Regular Season Championship outright, the second in program history.
  • Camilion now has 1,548 points for her career, remaining in sole possession of No. 6 on the program's all-time scoring leaderboard. She is 11 points shy of passing Megan Cobb for fifth-most points all-time in Iona women's basketball history.
  • Head coach Billi Chambers earned her 136th career victory overall and 100th in conference play. She became the 10th women's basketball head coach to earn 100 MAAC wins. Chambers owns the third most overall wins and most league wins in program history.
  • Iona's starting five of Athias, Camilion, Gomez, Hodge-Carr and Mager made their 25th overall and 17th consecutive appearance together this season.
  • Tonight was the 90th overall meeting between Iona and Manhattan. The Gaels earned their first victory at Draddy Gymnasium since January 20, 2017.
  • Tonight's victory was Iona's 15th consecutive, its longest win streak since winning 18 straight in the 2013-14 season.
  • The Gaels' 16-1 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

  • Rider outlasted Mount St. Mary's in overtime, 68-59, at Alumni Gymnasium.
  • Quinnipiac fell to Niagara, 63-58, at M&T Bank Arena.
  • Fairfield downed Marist, 73-57, at Leo D. Mahoney Arena.

UP NEXT

Iona hosts Canisius this Saturday, February 25 at 1:00 p.m. in New Rochelle. Saturday will serve as Iona's senior day and the penultimate home contest of the 2022-23 regular season.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona women's basketball and Iona Athletics on our social media platforms.
IonaGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)
Iona Women's Basketball: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (Email Updates)



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