EMMITSBURG, MD - The Iona University women's basketball team dropped a 55-48 decision at Mount St. Mary's in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at Knott Arena. The Gaels erased an early double-digit deficit in the second quarter but could not overcome a late run by the Mountaineers in the third in the road league defeat.
THE RUNDOWN
Mount St. Mary's jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the first 2:16 and led by as many as 11 in the opening frame. Trailing 15-4 with 3:41 to play, the Gaels got within five on three straight buckets by
Noa Givon and
Zoey Ward. The Mount led by seven at the end of one.
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Iona scored six straight to open the second quarter with a basket by graduate
Natalia Otkhmezuri and a pair from classmate
Sierra DeAngelo to pull within a point. After an Otkhmezuri three pointer at the midway point made it 22-21, the two teams traded runs of 6-0 and 7-0 and the score was tied for the first time since 0-0 with 45 ticks left. Mount St. Mary's Jo Raflo hit a three on her team's last possession to give the home team a 31-28 advantage at halftime.
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The decisive run in the contest started with 3:11 left in the third. The Mountaineers' 7-0 run in a 1:28 span made it 42-34. Iona closed within four points for the stretch run on a
Zoey Ward free throw and a three pointer by
Judith Gomez as time expired.
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In the fourth, Mount St. Mary's reopened an eight point advantage with 4:10 remaining after a 5-0 run. Iona responded with five straight of its own and trailed 51-48 with 1:23 left. The Mount held on over the final 83 seconds to earn the win.
IONA PERFORMERS
- DeAngelo led the Gaels with 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
- Otkhmezuri had 12 points and six boards, matching her teammate with two assists.
- Gomez posted seven points and ward added six points and six rebounds for the Gaels.
THE OPPONENT
- Raflo led a trio of double-digit scorers for the Mount with a game-high 18.
- Isabella Hunt shot 7-for-10 from the field in a 16-point, seven rebound effort.
- Jada Lee posted eight points, seven assists and five boards.
TEAM STATS
- Mount St. Mary's out shot Iona 42.3%-32.7%
- The Gaels held a 40-30 rebounding advantage and 13-2 on second chance points, grabbing 15 offensive boards.
- The Maroon & Gold had eight assists and 18 turnovers while the Mountaineers had 10 assists and 13 turnovers. Points off turnovers were even at 13-13.
UP NEXT
The Gaels face a tough test Saturday when it hosts first-place Fairfield at the Hynes Center for a 3 p.m. tipoff at the Hynes Center.
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