NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The Iona University women's basketball team erased a 10-point deficit with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter to earn a 52-50 win over UIC in the 2025 Iona Turkey Tip-Off Championship game on Saturday afternoon. The Gaels outscored the Flames 17-5 down the stretch at the Hynes Center, taking the lead with 12 seconds to go on a layup from junior
Zoey Ward.
Ward was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player with her second double-double of the weekend. She tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Maroon & Gold. Graduate student
Isabellah Middleton posted a game-high 19 points along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. Junior
Mya Zaccagnini posted five points, four rebounds and three assists and was the third Gael on the All-Tournament team.
THE RUNDOWN
After the visitors opened the game with a three-pointer, Iona quickly went on its first run, a 6-0 spurt with Middleton scoring five points and graduate student
Naomi Barnwell adding a free throw. UIC answered with a 7-0 run to take back the lead. Both teams traded blows from there before a knock down triple from Zaccagnini gave Iona a 14-13 lead just under two minutes to play. UIC would hold the slight advantage down the stretch to take a 17-15 lead at the end of the frame.
Iona countered to start the second quarter as a floating layup from senior
Ale Civera jump started a 7-3 opening run. A jumper from Middleton gave the Gaels back the lead with 4:50 to go. The two teams traded blows from there before Iona used back-to-back layups from sophomore
Adrianna Gonzalez to take a 26-22 lead with 1:16 to play. After a Flames turnaround jumper, Iona used one final bucket by Zaccagnini to take a 28-24 halftime lead.
The Gaels would grab the first basket of the third frame on a layup from Middleton. From there it was all UIC with a 13-4 scoring margin the rest of the way as Iona was held to just two made field goals. Iona's last field goal was a last second hook shot from Ward at the buzzer to make it a three-point game, 37-34 UIC as the game turned to the final stanza.
UIC used an 8-1 start to the fourth quarter to take its largest lead of the game 45-35 at the 5:38 mark. Shortly thereafter, Iona erupted for an 8-0 run with an old fashioned three-point play from Middleton, a three-pointer by Civera and another layup from Middleton to knot the game up at 46-46. The Flames took back the lead on a jumper before Ward drilled a three-pointer to take it right back. With 1:18 left to play, UIC grabbed hold of the lead on a free throw attempt. As the clock wound down, the Gaels forced a turnover with 20 seconds left to get one last offensive possesion. Ward came up clutch with the put back layup with 12 seconds left before capping the game with a free throw to bring the final to 52-50.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Middleton finished in double figures for the fifth time this season, posting 19 points on eight made field goals and one free throw. She also tallied eight rebounds and a team-high three assists and two steals.
- Ward recorded her second consecutive double-double and fourth of her career. She registered 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
- Zaccagnini also tied team-high with three assists to go with four rebounds and five points.
- Barnwell tied her career-high with four blocks to pair with five points and five rebounds.
THE OPPONENT
- TuTu Clayton led the Flames with 11 points, three assists and two steals.
- Magdalena Winter also finished in double figures with 10 points along with five rebounds and two assists.
- Julia Coleman finished with nine points, six rebounds, two assists and four blocks.
- Sara Zabrecky registered a team-high seven rebounds to pair with six points.
TEAM STATS
- UIC shot 37.3% from the field while Iona tied its season-low with a 29.0% clip from the floor.
- The Flames shot 55.6% from downtown on five made three-pointers and the Gaels made six triples at a 26.1% rate.
- Iona commanded the glass tying its season-high with 47 rebounds to UIC's 40 rebounds.
- The Gaels forced 16 turnovers leading to 17 points while the Flames caused 12 turnovers that only led to eight points.
IONA TURKEY TIP-OFF ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
UP NEXT
The Gaels will stay home for a midweek tilt against UMass Lowell on Wednesday, December 3. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Hynes Athletic Center.
