DURHAM, NC - The Iona University women's basketball team lost to No. 3 Duke, 89-49, on Saturday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the NCAA First Round.
Ketsia Athias led Iona with 20 points, adding five assists and four rebounds.
Juana Camilion chipped in 12 points and
Kate Mager contributed seven to round out Iona's top three scorers.
THE RUNDOWN
Duke took it to Iona to begin play, opening up a quick 8-0 lead and forcing an Iona timeout just over two minutes into action. The Gaels responded with six straight points out of the timeout, narrowing the deficit to two points before the Blue Devils ripped off another eight straight points to extend the advantage to double digits.
Iona trailed by 12 points at the end of the first quarter and saw the deficit grow to as large as 31 points entering the locker room at half. Iona fought hard to begin the second half, trading baskets back and forth with the Blue Devils for the majority of the third frame.
Despite Iona's best efforts, Duke controlled the game and closed out a win in the NCAA Tournament on its home court.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Ketsia Athias scored a team-high 20 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Her five assists, four rebounds and two steals were also team highs.
- Juana Camilion added 12 points. She grabbed three rebounds and handed out three assists.
- Kate Mager chipped in seven points, shooting 3-of-7 from the field.
THE OPPONENT
- Duke was led by a balanced scoring effort that featured four scorers in double figures. Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun each scored 13 points, while Kennedy Brown and Jordyn Oliver added 10 apiece.
- Brown corralled a game-high eight rebounds and finished with four assists.
- Shayeann Day-Wilson dished out a game-best seven assists.
TEAM STATS
- Duke's 89 points were the most allowed by Iona this season. The Blue Devils shot 58.5% (38-65) from the field and led wire-to-wire in the contest.
- Iona was out-rebounded 44-14 in the game and the Blue Devils held a 56-32 edge over the Gaels in paint points.
- The Blue Devils grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and finished the evening with 25 second-chance points.
- Iona shot 46.0% (23-50) from the field but were limited to an 18.2% (2-11) mark from beyond the three-point arc. Iona entered NCAA Tournament play with a 17-2 mark when shooting 45 percent or better from the field. The Gaels' two three-point makes tied a season-low.
- The Gaels were forced into 18 turnovers, seeing the Blue Devils convert the takeaways into 30 points.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Iona ends its season with a 26-7 overall mark, matching a program record for the most victories in a single season in (2013-14).
- Athias' 20 points were the second-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history, one point shy of matching the Iona record.
- Head coach Billi Chambers sits at 141 career wins, tied with Sandie Capifali for the second-most career wins in program history.
- Camilion finishes her incredible career with 1,614 points while donning the Maroon & Gold. She climbed to fifth all-time on Iona's all-time scoring list.
- Iona's starting five of Athias, Camilion, Gomez, Hodge-Carr and Mager made their 32nd overall and 24th consecutive appearance together this season.
- Iona falls to 0-2 all-time against Duke, 0-20 all-time against ACC opponents and 2-7 in national postseason contests. The Gaels have lost both NCAA Tournament games and are 2-5 all-time in the WNIT.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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