NEW ROCHELLE, NY —The Iona University women's basketball team was unable to withstand a second half charge by Quinnipiac Saturday afternoon, falling 74-66 at the Hynes Athletic Center. The Gaels held a six-point lead at halftime before the Bobcats roared back in the final two quarters to take the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup and regular season series.
Senior
Erin Leary led the Maroon & Gold with 14 points on Alumni Day. She also chipped in five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Senior
Judith Gomez recorded 13 points to go with three assists. Sophomore
Mya Zaccagnini also scored in double figures with 10 points and classmate
Zoey Ward tallied nine points and nine rebounds.
GAME SUMMARY
Iona came out the gates firing with an 8-2 opening run capped by a spot up three-pointer from Leary that prompted the Bobcats to call timeout. Quinnipiac punched back with a 4-0 spurt after the timeout to cut it to a one possession game with 6:38 to go. The Gaels continued to lead in the final 6:16, outscoring the Bobcats 15-6 to take a 23-12 advantage. Rookie
Chloe Vasquez led the way with five points down the stretch.
Quinnipiac opened the second frame with a 6-2 start. Iona charged back with an 11-6 stretch over the next two and a half minutes to take a 36-24 lead with 5:34 to go as the Bobcats called timeout once again. Junior
Ale Civera led the way with five points during that stretch. A 10-6 closing margin from there for the visitors, saw Iona take a 42-34 lead into halftime.
Momentum carried over for the Bobcats to start the third stanza with a 10-4 run to make it a 46-44 ball game with 6:21 to go and prompted Iona to take its first timeout of the game. It was back and forth from there with both teams taking stabs at the lead. Iona got the final basket in the last few seconds of the frame as Zaccagnini found Gomez driving to the lane for the 54-53 lead as the game headed to the final quarter.
The Bobcats responded out of the quarter break with a 6-0 run to begin the fourth frame to take back the lead, forcing Iona to call timeout. Quinnipiac built the lead up to six with 6:38 left to go. Iona punched back with a layup from Leary followed by back-to-back baskets from Zaccagnini to tie the game up at 62-62 with 4:47 left to play. The Bobcats quickly answered with a 6-0 run of their own to take back the lead with 2:14 to go. From there it was all Quinnipiac, holding Iona to just one field goal and free throw while going 3-of-4 from the foul line to take the matchup 74-66
IONA PERFORMERS
- Leary posted a team-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. She added five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. It was her seventh game in double figures and the 15th multi-block game of the season.
- Gomez recorded 13 points, going 5-of-9 from the field. She also dished out three assists. It was her 13th game scoring double digits.
- Zaccagnini eclipsed double figures for the fourth time this season with 10 points on the day.
- Ward grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with nine points and a team-high three steals.
THE OPPONENT
- Quinnipiac had four scorers post double figures on the day.
- Gal Raviv posted a game-high 22 points along with a game-high five assists.
- Jackie Grisdale chipped in 14 points for the Bobcats.
- Anna Foley recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Grace LaBarge finished the day with 12 points.
TEAM STATS
- Quinnipiac shot 47.6% from the field and Iona shot 43.9% as a team.
- The Bobcats had seven made three-pointers at a 36.8% clip while Iona had six made triples but shot 28.6% from distance.
- Quinnipiac held a 37-32 advantage on glass.
- The Bobcats scored 22 points on 12 Iona turnovers while Iona only had seven points on nine Quinnipiac turnovers.
UP NEXT
The Gaels are on the road for both games next weekend. First up is a trip to local rival, Manhattan on Thursday, February 20 for a 7 p.m. tip off at Draddy Gymnasium.
