NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University women's basketball team earned its second straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game, defeating Mount St. Mary's, 62-56 on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the contest at the Hynes Center, the Gaels honored graduating seniors Natalia Otkhmezuri and Sierra DeAngelo.
 
The senior duo led the Maroon & Gold as Otkhmezuri recorded a game-high 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting. DeAngelo registered her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Petra Oborilova added 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Junior Ella Fajardo chipped in eight points, six assists and two steals.

THE RUNDOWN

The back-and-forth battle kicked off with both teams trading baskets and shots at the lead, eventually working to a 9-9 standstill in the final minute. Otkhmezuri sunk a pair of free throws to give Iona the 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
Momentum carried over to the second quarter as Otkhmezuri drained a triple on the first possession to start a 12-2 Iona run. The Gaels grabbed a 23-12 lead on jumper from Oborilova with 5:48 to go as the Mountaineers promptly called timeout after the basket. Mount regrouped from there, using an 11-6 closing stretch to cut the Gaels lead to 29-24 at halftime.
 
The Mountaineers jumped out to an 8-3 run to begin the third quarter to knot the game up at 32-32 with 6:47 left in the frame. Iona would outscore Mount, 13-10 over the final 5:49 of the quarter thanks in part to eight points from Otkhmezuri to take a 45-42 lead into the final quarter.
 
An 8-0 run to begin the fourth gave the Mountaineers a 50-45 advantage with 7:45 remaining. A jumper by Fajardo broke up the run shortly after. And on the next possession freshman Zoey Ward grabbed a steal that led to a three-pointer by DeAngelo to tie the game up at 50-50. DeAngelo and Ward chipped in a pair of layups to give the Gaels back the lead 54-50 with 4:39 to go. The Mountaineers stayed in the fight with a 6-4 scoring edge in the next 2:52 to make it a one possession game 58-56 as the final minute approached. A turnover by the Gaels gave Mount a chance to score with 32 seconds left. Sophomore Noa Givon made a heads-up defensive play for the steal to seal the game. Givon and Fajardo closed out the game with two free throws each to seal the game and give Iona the win.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Otkhmezuri posted her 12^th game in double figures with her 19-point effort. She chipped in three three-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
• DeAngelo led the Gaels with 11 second half points to record her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She has tallied 16 games in double figures this season.
• Oborilova finished with 11 points for her sixth double-digit scoring effort of the season. She connected on three three-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, and led the team with a pair of blocks.
• Fajardo recorded eight points to go with a game-high six assists and a team-high two steals.

THE OPPONENT

• Jessica Tomasetti posted a team-high 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting with six rebounds.
• Jo Raflo chipped in 14 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
• Isabella Hunt and Jada Lee added eight points each for the Mountaineers.

TEAM STATS

• Iona out shot Mount, 40.8% to 34.4% from the field on Saturday afternoon.
• The Gaels recorded a 47.1% clip from downtown and held the Mountaineers to a 27.3% showing from three-point range.
• Iona controlled the rebounding battle for the fourth straight game with a 40-35 advantage on the boards.
• Mount held serve on the turnover battle, committing just 12 turnovers to the Gaels 18 turnovers.

AROUND THE MAAC

• Rider picked up its fourth straight win with a 62-61 overtime win over Marist at Alumni Gym.
• Canisius earned a weekend split with a 69-53 victory at Quinnipiac.
• Siena grabbed a 75-57 win over Saint Peteer's in Jersey City.
• Fairfield continued its 21-game winning streak with a dominant 95-65 victory over Niagara  to clinch the MAAC Regular Season title at home.

UP NEXT

The Gaels hit the road for the Western New York swing next weekend. First up is a trip to Canisius on Thursday, February 29 for a 6 p.m. contest at the Koessler Athletic Center.