NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Paced by a career-high 38 points by graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri, the Iona University women's basketball team earned a 70-60 win over Marist on Saturday afternoon. The Gaels pick up the first Metro Atlantic Conference victory of the season and move to 6-6 on the year and 1-2 in league play and the Red Foxes fall to 2-10 and 0-3 in the MAAC.

Otkhmezuri set a new single-game high by a MAAC scorer this season. She also posted the fourth highest single game scoring mark in program history.

The Maroon & Gold had two more scorers post double figures in the win. Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo added 16 points and eight rebounds. Junior Judith Gomez registered her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

THE RUNDOWN

Marist came out firing after their 16-day layoff with a 7-0 run to start the contest. Iona responded with a 7-0 run of their own with a layup and three-pointer from Otkhmezuri ending the run to tie the game at the 5:53 mark. Both teams traded the lead four times over the next four minutes. A three-pointer to end the quarter gave Marist a slight 13-12 lead.

The Red Foxes held the slight advantage as the second quarter got underway. Otkhmezuri went on 5-0 run over her own to give Iona a 19-15 lead at 6:07 in the quarter. The two teams would go basket for basket over the next three minutes as Iona held a 28-23 lead with just under three minutes to go. Marist went on to score the final four points in the quarter to give the Gaels a 28-27 lead at the intermission.
 
Iona opened the second half by going 6-of-6 from the field, outscoring Marist, 13-6 in the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter. The lead for the Gaels climbed to eight at 41-33 with 3:19 to go. Gomez led the way with six points and Otkhmezuri added five points. In the final minute and a half of the third, Iona closed with triples from Gomez and Otkhmezuri for a 47-36 advantage. 19-9 was the scoring advantage in the third for the Maroon & Gold, going 53.3% from the field.
 
A 5-0 run in the opening minute of the final quarter courtesy of a three by Gomez and a pair of free throws from DeAngelo gave the Gaels their largest lead of the game, 52-36. Marist would try to chip away at the deficit eventually cutting it to a seven-point game, 54-47 with 4:30 to go. That would be the closest the Red Foxes would get as Iona outscored them, 16-13 to end the quarter. Iona went a remarkable 12-13 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the home win.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Otkhmezuri posted her seventh game in double figures and bested her previous career-high of 25 points.
• She went 12-of-17 from the field with five made three pointers and went 9-of-9 at the free throw line.
• DeAngelo recorded her seventh game in double figures. She went 8-of-9 from the free throw line to go with four made field goals.
• Gomez registered her third double-double in the last four games. She went 5-of-10 from the field with two made triples. She set a new career-high with 12 rebounds.
• Freshman Mya Zaccagnini dished out a career-high four assists and led the defense with a career-high three steals.

THE OPPONENT

• Zaria Shazer recorded a double-double for Marist, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
• Lexie Tarul also finished in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
• Kiara Fisher added eight points, five rebounds and a game-high six assists.

TEAM STATS

• Iona shot 39.3% for the game while Marist shot 34.4%.
• The Red Foxes went 42.1% from distance with eight made threes and Iona went 33.3% from downtown with seven made triples.
• The Maroon & Gold converted a season-high 19 free throws, missing just one free throw on the night.
• Iona won the rebounding battle, 39-35.
• Just 17 combined turnovers between both teams with Iona committing nine turnovers and Marist recording eight turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Otkhmezuri posted the 29^th 30-point single-game performance in program history.
• She tied the fourth highest single game scoring effort, joining Maria Johnson who scored 38 points back in the 1978-1979 season.
• It was the second 30-point performance by an Iona scorer this season. DeAngelo scored 30-points at Bethune-Cookman on November 15.
• Iona has now won three of the last four meetings against Marist.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Fairfield swept the weekend in Buffalo ant improved to 4-0 in league play, closing with a 64-51 win over Canisius.
• Quinnipiac moved to 3-0 in MAAC play with a 71-59 win over Manhattan.
• Niagara bounced back at home against Niagara with a 72-61 win over Mount St. Mary's.
• Siena closed out the weekend with a 64-45 home win against Saint Peter's.

UP NEXT

The Gaels head up I-95 on Thursday, January 11 for a 7:00 p.m. matchup against Fairfield at Mahoney Arena.