HAMDEN, CONN.— The Iona University women's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth battle on Saturday afternoon to Quinnipiac, 70-64. With a tie game with 3:37 to go in the fourth quarter, the Gaels were unable to combat a late closing stretch by the Bobcats at M&T Bank Arena.

Junior Judith Gomez led the Maroon & Gold with a team-high 13 points. Junior Ella Fajardo registered her first career double-double, registering 10 points and 10 rebounds. She also finished with a game-high seven assists. Freshman Mya Zaccagnini recorded a career-high nine points and six rebounds in her first career start.

THE RUNDOWN

Iona opened the game on a layup and three-pointer by Gomez as part of a 10-0 run that prompted an early Quinnipiac timeout. The Bobcats punched back with seven points over the next two minutes to cut the deficit to three. Both teams traded blows from there before a triple by Quinnipiac cut the Iona lead to one, 15-14 with 1:41 to go. The Gaels tallied the last basket of the quarter as graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri found Gomez cutting to the basket for the layup in the final seconds to give Iona the 17-14 lead.
 
Quinnipiac started the second quarter with a 9-2 run to take a 23-19 advantage. A 5-2 swing courtesy of a three-pointer by freshman Zoey Ward and layup from sophomore Ally Carman brought the deficit back to one, 25-24. After Bobcat three, Iona got back-to-back baskets from Carman and Zaccagnini to tie the game, 28-28 with 1:29 to go in the half. The Bobcats closed the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 33-30 lead into halftime.

A back-to-back basket start to open the third quarter by the Bobcats prompted an Iona timeout at 7:49 in the period. The Gaels responded out of the timeout with an 8-2 run to bring the deficit back to one, 39-38 with 6:16 to go in the quarter. Quinnipiac snapped back with a quick bucket before Iona used a three pointer by Fajardo and a old-fashioned three point play from sophomore Petra Oborilova to regain the lead, 44-41 with 3:50 remaining. The Gaels would stay in front the rest of the quarter, taking a 49-47 advantage into the final period.

The final quarter began with another run by the home team, with an 8-2 stretch that gave Quinnipiac the 55-51 lead with 7:41 to go. Iona recouped after another called timeout as graduate student Sierra DeAngelo made a basket down low and Gomez hit a triple to reclaim the lead, 56-55. The lead changed hands three times from there over the next three minutes. Quinnipiac used back-to-back to take a 62-59 lead with 3:56 remaining. Iona knotted things up at 62-62 on another three-pointer from Gomez on the next possession. A layup with 1:56 remaining gave Quinnipiac back the lead. Iona couldn't answer late on the offensive end going 1-of-5 from the floor in the final minutes as the Bobcats closed with another 8-2 run to take the game, 70-64.

IONA PERFORMERS

• The Gaels had eight different scorers contribute on Saturday night.
• Gomez tied her career-high with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with three made three-pointers.
• Fajardo recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. She dished out seven assists for the second time this season.
• Zaccagnini finished her first career start with career high nine points, six rebounds to go with three steals and a block on the defensive end. 

THE OPPONENT

• Quinnipiac had four scorers finish the game in double figures.
• Karston Martin recorded a game-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists.
• Ella O'Donnell registered her second straight double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

TEAM STATS

• Quinnipiac shot 46.9% from the field and 31.6% from distance. Iona shot 36.8% for the game and 33.3% from downtown.
• The Bobcats won the rebounding battle, holding a 42-35 advantage on the glass.
• Iona committed a season low eight turnovers while Quinnipiac turned the ball over 12 times.
• Just 10 foul shots were attempted on Saturday with the Gaels going 5-of-6 and Quinnipiac shooting 4-of-4.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Rider earned a 76-63 win over Canisius at Alumni Gymnasium.  
• Fairfield continued its 12-game winning streak at home with a 78-73 win over Siena.
• Manhattan recorded a 41-37 victory over Saint Peter's at Draddy Gymnasium.
• Marist picked up its second straight win with a narrow 61-60 victory at home over Niagara.

UP NEXT

The Gaels return to the Hynes Athletic Center on Thursday, January 18 for the annual Kids Day Out game against Saint Peter's. The sold-out game will tip-off at 11:00 a.m. and air live on ESPN+.