PISCATAWAY, NJ — The Iona University women's basketball team fell to Big Ten foe Rutgers, 81-53 on Friday afternoon. The Gaels battled to cut the deficit to eight in the opening half before the Scarlet Knights pulled away in the second half to take the non-conference tilt at Jersey Mike's Arena.
 
Senior Judith Gomez led the Gaels with 12 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. Sophomores Emma Donnelly and Zoey Ward contributed nine and eight points respectively. Rookie forward Destinee Salgado grabbed a career-high seven rebounds to go with a career-high seven points.

THE RUNDOWN

Scoring was slow to start the game as the Scarlet Knights held a slight 6-4 advantage through the first five minutes. Gomez scored the first four points for the Maroon & Gold in that stretch. From there it was all Rutgers with a 15-5 closing stretch to take a 21-9 lead at quarters end.
 
Iona started the second quarter strong as Salgado got the first basket of the quarter. Donnelly followed with a mid-range jumper for the four-point spurt. Rutgers responded with a four-point stretch of their own shortly after. From there both teams traded baskets in the middle stretch of the quarter. The Gaels closed the quarter on a 7-2 run on a three by Gomez, a layup from junior Ale Civera and hook shot by junior Ally Carman to bring the score to 33-25 at the halftime break.
 
Rutgers took advantage of Iona foul trouble to start the third quarter extending the lead with four free throws in the first two minutes. Salgado hit a turnaround jumper in the lane shortly after to start a 7-3 run from the Gaels. Two free throws from senior Ella Fajardo cut the deficit back down to eight, 40-32 with 5:50 to go in the quarter. A six-point run from the Scarlet Knights prompted an Iona timeout at the 3:49 mark. From there both teams traded baskets as Rutgers took a 55-40 lead into the final stanza.
 
The Scarlet Knights pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Gaels 26-13 in the period. Junior Amaya Evans led the Gaels with five points in the frame. Rutgers forced six Iona turnovers in the final frame to take the game 81-53.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Gomez totaled 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
• Donnelly totaled nine points and five rebounds.
• Ward totaled six of her eight points in the second half for the Maroon & Gold.
• Salgado led the way with seven rebounds to match her seven points.

THE OPPONENT

• Destiny Adams led Rutgers with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
• Kiyomi McMiller totaled 14 second half points for the Scarlet Knights.
• Lisa Thompson added 12 points and JoJo Lacy recorded 10 points.

TEAM STATS

• Rutgers shot 47% for the game while holding the Gaels to a 32.3% clip.
• Only nine made three pointers between both teams as the Scarlet Knights shot 29.4% and Iona at a 17.4% clip from distance.
• Rutgers held the slight advantage on the rebounding battle, 45-42.
• The Scarlet Knights forced 16 Iona turnovers while the Gaels forced 12 Rutgers turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Gomez posted double figures for the second straight game and the 17^th time in her career.
• Salgado set new career highs in both scoring and rebounding.
• Junior Amaya Evans added a career-high seven points in the second half.
• Junior Ale Civera recorded a game-high and career-high three assists.

UP NEXT

The Gaels return to the Hynes Center for a two-game homestand beginning with a matchup against Charleston on Wednesday, November 20. All weeknight home games will begin at 6 p.m. this season.