DAVIDSON, NC— The Iona University women's basketball team concluded its weekend down south with an 82-52 defeat to Davidson on Sunday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena.

Junior Zoey Ward had stellar game for the Maroon & Gold, playing in her home state for the first time in her collegiate career. Ward tied her career-high with 21 points on career-high nine made field goals to pair with eight rebounds. Junior Mya Zaccagnini recorded 11 points and graduate student Isabellah Middleton chipped in 10 points for the Gaels.

GAME SUMMARY

Iona got off to a strong start in its first trip to Davidson with baskets from graduate student Naomi Barnwell and Ward to open the contest. The Wildcats got going offensively shortly thereafter with a 5-0 run of its own. The Gaels countered with a 6-2 swing led by four points from Ward to take a 10-7 lead with 4:08 remaining. After a back-and-forth couple of minutes, another 5-0 spurt from Davidson gave the home team a 17-13 lead. Zaccagnini connected on a reverse layup to make it a two-point game at quarters end.
 
Davidson punched back with a 7-0 opening run to start the second quarter to force Iona to call timeout with 8:15 left to play. The Gaels responded out of the timeout with a triple from Middleton to start a 7-2 run over the next 2:31 to force Davidson to take a timeout of its own. The two teams traded blows from there before a knockdown three-pointer from Ward made it a two-point deficit for Iona, 30-28. From there it was all Davidson, as the home team used a 15-3 closing stretch to take a 14-point lead into the intermission.
 
The Wildcats continued to keep the Gaels at a distance in the second half with a 37-21 scoring margin to take the non-conference tilt. Iona's leading point scorers in the second half were Middleton and Ward who posted seven points each.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Ward tied her career-high with 21 points on a career-best nine made field goals include three made three-pointers. She also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. It was her second straight game in double figures for Iona.
• Zaccagnini posted her second double-digit scoring effort of the season, going 5-of-7 from the field for 11 points.
• Middleton recorded her third double-digit scoring effort of the season with 10 points.
• Middleton, Ward and Zaccagnini all finished with a team-high two assists.

THE OPPONENT

• Katie Donovan totaled a game-high 23 points to lead the Wildcats.
• Charlise Dunn posted 19 points, a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high three steals.
• Candice Lienafa was the third Wildcat to score in double figures with 14 points.

TEAM STATS

• Davidson shot 56.9% for the game while Iona shot a season-best 44.0% from the field.
• The Wildcats connected on eight made three-pointers for a 42.1% clip while the Gaels shot a season-high 50% from downtown on five made triples.
• Iona won the rebounding battle for a third time this season with a 29-27 margin.
• The Wildcats forced Iona to commit a season-high 20 turnovers leading to 28 points, while the Gaels only forced a season-low eight turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Gaels return to the metropolitan area with its final road game of the opening month on Monday, November 24 with a 7 p.m. matchup at Wagner.