RIVERDALE, NY —The Iona University women's basketball team erased an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game with just under a minute to play but were unable to rally all the way back as Manhattan took the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup, 68-65 on Thursday night at Draddy Gymnasium. The Gaels and Jaspers split the regular season series with the home side coming out victorious in the two meetings between the local rivals.
 
Seniors Ella Fajardo and Judith Gomez led the Maroon & Gold with a team-high 16 points on the night. Fajardo also registered a team-high six rebounds and Gomez dished out a game-high five assists to go with four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. First-year Chloe Vasquez also finished in double figures with 11 points for the Gaels.

THE RUNDOWN

Iona started the road matchup strong with a 5-2 opening stretch on a floater in the lane by Gomez and a knock down triple from sophomore Zoey Ward. From there it was all Manhattan as the home team erupted on a 11-1 run over the next five minutes to take the lead. Iona broke its scoreless drought on a fade away jumper from Vasquez with 1:35 left to go. A 6-2 closing stretch gave the home team a 19-10 lead at quarters end.
 
It was a back and forth start to the second quarter with Manhattan out scoring Iona, 13-10 through the first 10 minutes to build to the largest lead of the game 32-20 with 4:13 left to play. Vasquez led the Gaels with four points in the first five minutes. Iona closed out the first half strong with a 10-6 closing stretch paced by five more points from Vasquez to bring the deficit down to eight, 38-30 at the halftime break.
 
Momentum carried over into the third quarter for the Gaels with a 6-2 run to kick off the second half led by baskets from Ward, Fajardo and senior Talia DePetrillo to cut the deficit down to four with 6:30 to go in the frame. Manhattan punched back with a 9-3 run over the next two minutes to take a 49-39 lead, forcing Iona to call timeout. Gomez broke the run up out of the timeout with a spot up triple. The Jaspers continued to hold the Gaels at a distance as the quarter wound down to bring the score to 55-46 as the game shifted to the final quarter.
 
Manhattan's lead climbed back up to 11 through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. Iona started to chip away from there with a 10-0 run over the next 4:57 of play. Gomez led the charge with six points including a knock down three-pointer to bring the score to 59-58 with 2:01 left. The Jaspers broke up the run with a layup before Iona answered on a pair of free throws from Fajardo. Iona tied the game up at 61-61 on another made free throw from Fajardo with 52 seconds remaining. Manhattan took back the lead with 22 seconds to go on another putback layup. Iona looked to answer on the next possession but was blocked at the rim. Manhattan continued to hold the lead with a 5-of-5 showing at the foul line to walk away with the 68-65 lead.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Fajardo scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the second half for the Gaels. She also grabbed a season-high six rebounds on the night. It was her 14^th double-digit scoring game of the year.
• Gomez also had a strong second half, scoring 11 of her 16 points in the second half. It was the 14^th time she has scored in double figures on the season. She also dished out a season-high five assists to go with two steals and a blocked shot.
• Vasquez recorded her fourth double digit scoring performance of the year with 11 points.
• Ward also grabbed a team-high six rebounds to go with nine points.
• Senior Erin Leary finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and tied her season-high with a game-high four steals.

THE OPPONENT

• Petra Juric led Manhattan with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
• Brianna Davis also finished in double figures with 10 points paired with five boards.
• Nitzan Amar dished out a team-high five assists.

TEAM STATS

• Manhattan shot 45.5% from the field and Iona shot 39.4% as a team.
• Both teams made five three-pointers on the night with the Jaspers shooting 31.3% and the Gaels were held to a 26.3% clip from beyond the arc.
• Manhattan won the rebounding battle, 41-32 on the night.
• Iona scored 21 points off 20 Manhattan turnovers while the Jaspers only scored four points on 11 turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Gaels continue the road weekend with a trip up to Merrimack for a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday, February 22 for the first ever meeting between the two programs.