NEW ROCHELLE, NY— The Iona University women's basketball team dropped a 64-56 decision to rival Manhattan on Saturday. The Gaels led after the opening half but were unable to withstand a second half charge by the surging Jaspers in the Metro Atlantic Athletic conference matchup at the Hynes Center.
 
Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo led the Maroon & Gold, scoring a team-high 15 points for the second consecutive game and added five rebounds. Junior Judith Gomez registered a career-high 14 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri also finished in double figures, posting 13 points along with a career-high eight rebounds and two blocks.

THE RUNDOWN

Iona jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a jumper from DeAngelo followed by a jumper and three-pointer from Otkhmezuri. Manhattan punched back with a 7-3 stretch into the media timeout to cut the early deficit to three with 4:48 to go. A three pointer from sophomore Petra Oborilova gave the Gaels their third triple of the quarter to push the lead back up to six. Manhattan closed the quarter with a pair of baskets to lone bucket by Otkhmezuri to give Iona, 15-11 lead the end of the opening quarter.
 
Manhattan recorded the first five points of the second to take a 16-15 lead with 7:58 remaining. Iona responded with a 7-0 run courtesy of a triple by Noa Givon and baskets by junior Ella Fajardo and DeAngelo to regain a 22-16 advantage. Manhattan used a 6-2 swing over a three-minute stretch to cut the deficit back to within two. Gomez extended the Iona lead back to five to on a three-pointer with 1:59 to go. Manhattan grabbed a basket on the next possession and had a tip-in at the buzzer called off after replay review to put Iona at a 27-24 advantage at the half.
 
The Gaels had a strong start to the third quarter of play with an 8-2 stretch to begin the frame. A free throw by Oborilova gave Iona its largest lead of the game, 35-26 with 6:15 left in the period. Manhattan responded with a 14-2 run over the final five minutes of the quarter to take back the lead, 40-37 as the game headed into the final quarter.
 
Manhattan kicked off the final quarter with a three and Fajardo answered right back with a three of her own for the Gaels. From there the Jaspers utilized an 11-3 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 54-43 lead with 4:44 to go. Iona looked to punch back on layup by Otkhmezuri and a free throw and foul line jumper from DeAngelo to cut the deficit back down to six, 54-48 with 2:35 left. Manhattan took an eight-point lead into the final minute as the Gaels looked for late life, going 3-of-4 from the field in the final minute. The Jaspers were poised at the line to counter, going 6-of-8 from the line down the stretch to take the 64-56 decision.

IONA PERFORMERS

• DeAngelo finished with 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting for the second consecutive game to lead the Gaels. Saturday was her 10^th game this season scoring in double digits. She also grabbed five rebounds against the Jaspers.
• Gomez posted a new career-high in scoring, tallying 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting with a team-high three made three-pointers. She has scored in double digits in each of the last five games and 10 times this season. Gomez added three rebounds, three assists and two steals for the game.
• Otkhmezuri recorded 13 points for the Gaels, her 10^th game in double figures this season. She grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and career-best two blocks on the defensive end.
• Fajardo led the Gaels with four assists and added five points and three rebounds.

THE OPPONENT

• Manhattan had five scorers contribute on the day with four finishing in double figures.
• Leyla Ozturk recorded a game-high 19 points to go with six rebounds.
• Ines Gimenez Monserrat chipped in 16 points for the Jaspers.
• Nitzan Amar tallied 12 points, five rebounds and a game-high six assists. Jade Blagrove added 11 points and six rebounds.

TEAM STATS

• Iona led the way shooting 47.9% from the field on Saturday afternoon while Manhattan shot 43.6% as a team.
• The Gaels had a bounce back effort from distance after shooting 14.8% Thursday night, going 50% (7-of-14) from three-point range on Saturday. The Jaspers shot 35.3% (6-of-17) from deep for the game.
• Manhattan held the advantage on the glass, with a 31-29 favor on rebounds.
• The Jaspers committed just eight turnovers for the game while Iona turned the ball over 12 times.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Niagara captured its third straight win, defeating Mount St. Mary's, 80-63 at Knott Arena.
• Saint Peter's picked up its second conference win with a 68-58 victory over Rider at home.
• Fairfield's winning streak moves to 15 straight after a 70-42 win over Canisius at Mahoney Arena.
• Siena recorded its third straight win, earning a 78-60 decision over Quinnipiac in Hamden.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will make the trip out to Maryland on Thursday, February 1 for a matchup at Mount St. Mary's. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Knott Arena.