LOWELL, MASS. — The Iona University women's basketball team fell on the road to UMass Lowell, 49-38 on Tuesday evening at the Costello Athletic Center.

Senior Ella Fajardo led the Maroon & Gold with 11 points to go with three rebounds. Sophomore Mya Zaccagnini posted 10 points and three rebounds. Sophomore Zoey Ward finished with six points, a team-high six rebounds and a team-high three assists. Erin Leary registered a team-high six rebounds and four blocks along with five points.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring slow to start as the River Hawks held a 4-0 lead into the media timeout. Sophomore Zoey Ward got the Gaels on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws following the timeout. UMass Lowell countered with back-to-back layups to take a six-point advantage. Zaccagnini connected on a corner three to cut into the deficit with 3:33 left in the frame. The scoring drought continued for Iona in the final minutes as the River Hawks scored three more points to take a 11-5 lead at quarters end.
 
The Gaels started the second quarter off strong with a pair of baskets from Zaccagnini and Leary to cut the deficit to two. UMass Lowell answered with a four-point swing before Leary knocked down an open triple with 5:33 left to play. Senior Ella Fajardo made it a one-point game two minutes later with a driving layup. The River Hawks closed the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 20-16 lead into the intermission.
 
Out of the halftime break both teams traded baskets to and 8-8 gridlock in the first six minutes. Fajardo paced the Iona offense with four points as the deficit remained at four with 3:26 to go. The closing stretch was all UMass Lowell with a 9-0 run to end the frame and take a 37-24 lead. The River Hawks continued to keep the Gaels at bay in the final stanza to earn the non-conference win.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Fajardo finished with a season-high 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and a pair of free throws.
• Zaccagnini recorded her second double-digit scoring effort of the season with 10 points on the night.
• Ward grabbed a team-high six rebounds and set a new season-high three assists to go with six points.
• Leary registered a season-high four blocks to go with a steal on the defensive end. She added five points and a team-high six rebounds.

THE OPPONENT

• Sydney Watkins posted a double-double with a game-high 15 points to go along with 12 rebounds. She also tallied three assists and a game-high five steals.
• Rayne Durant added 12 points for River Hawks.
• Maddie Rice grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds and nine points.

TEAM STATS

• UMass Lowell shot 39.2% from the floor while Iona was held to a season-low 25% from the field.
• Both teams struggled from distance as the Gaels connected on four three-pointers and the River Hawks only made one triple.
• UMass Lowell dominated the glass, outrebounding Iona 44-30 on the night.
• The River Hawks committed 17 turnovers while Iona turned the ball over 15 times.
• Iona tallied a season-high seven blocks on the defensive end.

UP NEXT

Iona takes an eight-day break for finals before returning to the Hynes Athletic Center on Thursday, December 19 for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener against Sacred Heart.