POUGHKEEPSIE, NY— The Iona University women's basketball team snapped its six-game losing skid on Saturday night with a 62-53 victory over Marist at McCann Arena. The Gaels recorded the regular season sweep over the Red Foxes and earned the first road Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win of the season.
 
Graduate student Sierra DeAngelo registered her second double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds on the night. Junior Ella Fajardo recorded 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high three assists to go with three steals. Sophomore Noa Givon also recorded 12 points and sophomore Petra Oborilova added eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

THE RUNDOWN

The Gaels started the game off strong with Fajardo and DeAngelo opening the game with back-to-back three-pointers. Marist responded with a 7-0 stretch shortly after to take the lead. Iona answered right back with a jumper by Givon followed by a layup and triple by DeAngelo to reclaim the lead, 13-7 with 3:48 remaining in the frame. Both teams traded baskets from there before Iona ended the quarter on threes from Fajardo and Oborilova to take a 21-12 lead at periods end.
 
Marist responded out of the quarter break with a 9-0 run in the first 3:11 of action to tie the game up at 21-21. A jumper in the lane by sophomore Amaya B. Evans broke up the run and gave Iona back the lead. It was short lived as the Red Foxes went on a 7-0 run to jump ahead 28-23 and prompted an Iona timeout. The two teams exchanged points from there. Graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri picked up a step back jumper and freshman Zoey Ward hit a layup as time expired to cut the deficit to one, 30-29 at halftime.
 
That momentum carried into the third quarter from the Gaels with a 10-0 stretch on baskets from DeAngelo and Oborilova to go with triples by Givon and Otkhmezuri to take a 39-30 lead with 2:47 left in the quarter. Marist answered with an 8-1 run in the final 2:45 of the quarter to put the Iona lead at 40-38 heading into the final frame.  
 
Iona built up its lead in the start of the final quarter with an 8-2 stretch paced by three-pointers from DeAngelo and Oborilova and pull up jumper from Givon to take a 48-40 lead with 5:47 to go. The closest Marist would get was within six down the stretch as Iona closed out the final five minutes with a 14-13 scoring margin including 7-of-9 from the charity stripe in the final minute to take the regular season series sweep and 62-53 road win.

IONA PERFORMERS

• DeAngelo posted 17 points for the second straight game and double digits for the sixth straight contest and made a season-high three triples.
• She grabbed 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season, the first since a 30-point, 13-rebound showing at Bethune-Cookman on November 15.
• Fajardo finished with 12 points for her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season. She also registered five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
• Givon tallied double figures for sixth time, recording 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
• Oborilova posted eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbed double-digit rebounds for the first time in her career with five defensive and five offensive rebounds for 10 boards.

THE OPPONENT

• Zaria Shazer led Marist with 12 points on the night and Lexie Tarul finished with 11 points.
• Kiara Fisher recorded nine points to go with six rebounds, a game-high five assists and three steals.
• Morgan Lee finished with a near double-double effort with nine points and 10 rebounds.

TEAM STATS

• Iona shot 39.3% for the game and 40% from distance with 10 made three-pointers.
• Marist had a 34.4% clip from the field and shot 25% from distance on the night.
• The Gaels dominated the glass with a 42-36 margin on rebounds for the game.
• Both teams committed 14 turnovers for the game and made nine steals on the defensive end.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Mount earned a weekend sweep at Knott Arena, defeating Canisius 70-56.
• Siena recorded its seventh straight win with a 74-55 victory over Quinnipiac at UHY Center.
• Rider grabbed a 58-54 victory at home over Manhattan.
• Fairfield kept its winning streak alive with a 52-46 victory over Saint Peter's at Mahoney Arena.

UP NEXT

The Gaels return to the Hynes Athletic Center on Thursday, February 15 against Rider in the annual Play 4 Kay game. The game will air live nationally on ESPNU with a 6:02 p.m. tip-off.