JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Iona University women's basketball team earned a 54-35 victory over Saint Peter's at Run Baby Run Arena. The Gaels assisted on 18 of 20 made field goals on Saturday afternoon to earn the regular season series over the Peacocks.
 
Junior Judith Gomez recorded an all-around game posting eight points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Freshman Zoey Ward recorded a game-high and career-high 10 points for the Maroon & Gold. Sophomore Petra Oborilova added nine points on three made three-point field goals.

THE RUNDOWN

After an early basket in the opening minute, Iona dominated the first quarter of play going on a 13-0 run over a five-minute stretch to take a commanding lead. The Gaels went 4-of-8 from the field during that stretch lead by a pair of triples from Oborilova. Graduate student Natalia Otkhmezuri added a three while Gomez and graduate student Sierra DeAngelo chipped in a pair of baskets. Saint Peter's would get the final basket of the frame to cut the run and push the score to 13-4 in favor of the Gaels.
 
A pair of free throws from Gomez and a driving layup from Ward started off the second quarter for Iona. Saint Peter's found its footing with a 13-3 stretch over the next eight minutes of action to cut the deficit to three, 20-17 with 29 seconds left in the first half. Junior Ella Fajardo connected on a floater just outside the lane at the buzzer to give the Gaels a 22-17 lead at the break.
 
Sophomore Noa Givon started the third quarter with a three-pointer, but Saint Peter's answered with a 7-0 run to make it a one-point game, 25-24 with 7:06 to go in the quarter. Iona promptly called timeout to regroup. The Gaels made the necessary adjustments by closing the third quarter on 15-2 run to jump ahead 40-26 and grab full control of the game. The Gaels went 6-of-9 from the field in the final 6:36 of the third with Otkhmezuri leading the run with five points and Ward added four points. The Gaels defense held Saint Peter's to zero made field goals the rest of the third quarter.
 
Iona continued to hold serve in the final quarter with a 14-9 scoring margin to secure the road conference win. The Gaels went 6-of-11 from the field in the fourth and held the Peacocks to a 3-of-13 mark from the field and 0-for-7 from three-point range. Ward led the team with four points in the fourth along with DeAngelo and Oborilova knocking down a three-pointer for Iona.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Eight different scorers contributed for the Gaels in the win.
• Ward posted double figures for the first time in her career going 4-of-9 from the field with a pair of free throws.
• Gomez went 2-of-4 from the field with a 4-for-4 clip from the free throw line. Her 13 rebounds set a new career high. She tied her career-high with five assists and recorded four steals on the defensive end.
• Oborilova went 3-of-6 from downtown for nine points.
• Otkhmezuri tallied eight points and tied her career-high with four assists.
• DeAngelo added seven points to go with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks.

THE OPPONENT

• Maria Fux recorded a team-high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and five rebounds for the Peacocks.
• Mikia Keith added six points to match a team-high four assists and a game-high five steals.

TEAM STATS

• Iona shot 38.5% for the game and held Saint Peter's to a new opponent low 24.5% from the field.
• The Gaels shot 40% from beyond the arc with eight made three-pointers while holding Saint Peter's to 14.3% from distance.
• Iona won the rebounding margin for the third straight contest, with a 35-30 advantage on the glass.
• Saint Peter's turned the ball over 19 times while Iona recorded 17 turnovers.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Canisius earned a weekend sweep with a 71-64 win over. Siena at home.
• Manhattan grabbed a 72-66 overtime victory against Quinnipiac at Draddy Gymnasium.
• Niagara pushed its winning streak to eight after downing Marist 90-64 at the Gallagher Center.
• Fairfield battled back in the second half to edge Mount St. Mary's, 61-59 at Knott Arena to push winning streak to 20 in a row.

UP NEXT

The Gaels are back in action on Saturday, February 24 at the Hynes Center for Senior Day. Iona will honor its senior class prior to the 1 p.m. contest against Mount St. Mary's.