NEW ROCHELLE, NY— In front of a capacity crowd of 2,578 at the Hynes Center for Kids Day, the Iona University women's basketball team defeated Saint Peter's, 68-62, on Thursday afternoon. The Gaels assisted on 21 of the team's 23 made field goals and connected on 12 three pointers for the second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference victory of the season.
 
Four scorers posted double-digit efforts for the Maroon & Gold, led by 16 points from sophomore Petra Oborilova. Freshman Mya Zaccagnini registered a career-high 14 points and six assists. Graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri added 13 points, four assists and three rebounds. Junior Judith Gomez recorded 12 points and a team-high six rebounds.

THE RUNDOWN

The two teams traded jabs to kick off the contest, fighting to a 12-12 standstill at the 4:26 mark in the opening quarter. Iona connected on four three-pointers to open the game including a pair of triples from Oborilova. Saint Peter's created separation with a 5-0 run on back-to-back possessions late in the quarter. Sophomore Noa Givon had a layup in the final minute to bring the score to 17-14 at the end of the opening quarter.
 
Iona started the second quarter with a baseline jumper from sophomore Ale Civera to kickstart a 7-4 stretch. A jumper from Zaccagnini knotted the game at 21-21 at the 6:35 mark in the period. Saint Peter's quickly took the lead back in the next possession. The rest of the quarter belonged to the Gaels, closing the period on a 15-2 run to take a 36-25 lead. Zaccagnini tallied six points during that closing run and Oborilova added five points.
 
Saint Peter's used a 11-3 start in the third quarter to cut the deficit to three, 39-36 with 6:30 to go and forced Iona to take a timeout. The Gaels regrouped out of the timeout, outscoring the Peacocks, 15-9 the rest of the third stanza. Iona went 6-of-7 from field over the final 5:39 in the period to take a 54-45 lead. Gomez paced the Gaels with a pair of three pointers in closing stretch.
 
The start of the final quarter saw the Gaels keeping the distance as both teams scored eight points each through the first six minutes of action. Scoring hit a lull for a 3:30 stretch before Saint Peter's used a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to five, 62-57 with 54 seconds remaining. Iona closed the game by going 6-of-7 from the charity stripe to seal the 68-62 win.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Oborilova recorded double figures for the fifth time this season with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and four made three pointers. She added two blocks on the defensive end for the Gaels.
• Zaccagnini registered a career-high 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, finishing with a pair of three-pointers and two free throws. She dished out a career-high six assists and added three boards and one steal.
• Otkhmezuri tallied her eighth game in double figures, scoring 13 points to go with three rebounds and a career-high four assists.
• Gomez added her seventh game in double digits, finishing with 12 points. She went 3-of-3 from downtown and hit three clutch free throws in the final minute. Gomez added a team-high six rebounds along with a block and steal on defense.
• Givon added nine points on 4-of-6 shooting.
• Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo contributed a career high six assists to go with four rebounds and two points.

THE OPPONENT

• Fatmata Janneh recorded a game-high 28 points to go with six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
• Carys Roy also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points and adding four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
• Mikia Keith added seven points and a game-high 11 assists.

TEAM STATS

• Strong shooting day for both teams as Iona shot 47.9% from the field and Saint Peter's shot 47.1%.
• The Gaels shot 54.5% from distance, going 12-of-22 from downtown. The Peacocks had a 36.8% clip from downtown with seven made threes.
• Even matchup for the rebounding battle as Saint Peter's held a 27-26 edge on the rebounding battle.
• Both teams committed 15 turnovers for the game.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Thursday's win for the Gaels is the fourth straight victory against Saint Peter'.
• Iona is 13-2 in the last 15 games between both teams at the Hynes Center.
• The Gaels connected on 10-plus three-pointers for the third time this season.
• Iona posted 20-plus assists for the second time this season, finishing with 21 for the game.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Niagara will host Manhattan for a 6:00 p.m. contest at the Gallagher Center.
• Quinnipiac also makes the trip to Western New York for a 6:00 p.m. matchup at Canisius.
• Marist travels to Mount St. Mary's for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Knott Arena.
• Siena plays host to Rider at the UHY Center for 7:00 p.m. matchup.
• The conference leaders, Fairfield have the night off.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will make the trip up north on Saturday, January 20 to take on Siena. Tip-off at the UHY Center is slated for 2:00 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.