NEW ROCHELLE, NY —The Iona University women's basketball team battled back from a 10-point first half deficit but were unable to execute down the stretch as Niagara walked away with a 61-56 win on Thursday night. The Gaels tied the game up with just under two minutes to play before the Purple Eagles capitalized at the foul line late to take the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matchup at the Hynes Athletic Center.
 
Senior Judith Gomez led the Maroon & Gold with 14 points on the night to go with a pair of steals. Sophomore Zoey Ward chipped in 10 points and a team-high six rebounds and two steals on the defensive end. Senior Talia DePetrillo added nine points, four rebounds and three assists.

THE RUNDOWN

Niagara and its unrelenting press went to work early, forcing three Iona turnovers on the way to a 6-0 run. Iona offense started to chip away led by four points from senior Ella Fajardo, but the Purples were there to answer, building to a 15-7 lead with 2:56 to go in the opening frame. The Gaels used a 7-2 closing stretch as junior Ale Civera, Ward and Gomez all picked up baskets to bring the score to 17-14 at the end of the quarter.
 
Momentum carried over for the Maroon & Gold to start the second quarter as rookie Chloe Vasquez and Civera recorded back-to-back baskets to open the frame and give Iona a 18-17 lead. Niagara capitalized on Iona foul trouble with a 5-0 run to take back the lead. Ward broke up the run with a pair of free throws, but the final five minutes of the opening half continued to go in Niagara's favor, outscoring Iona 18-10 to take a 40-30 halftime lead.
 
Niagara got the first basket out of the halftime break. From there a triple from senior Erin Leary kicked off a 10-0 Iona run that was capped by a turnaround layup in the lane from Fajardo to tie the game 42-42 at the 4:54 mark. A pair of free throws from the visitors cut the Gael run. A knock down triple from DePetrillo gave Iona its first lead, 45-44 with 4:06 left to play. Offense slowed down from there as the Purple Eagles closed the frame on a 3-0 run to take a 47-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Purple Eagles extended the lead with another basket to kick off the final frame. Iona answered with a 7-0 run on a made free throw from Ward and back-to-back threes from Gomez and sophomore Mya Zaccagnini to take a 52-50 lead with 6:36 left to play. Niagara punched back with a 6-0 run over three plus minutes to take a 4-point lead with three minutes to go. A driving layup from Fajardo followed and Gomez knotted the game up 56-56 with 1:56 left in regulation. Niagara took the lead on a free throw with 1:24 to go and continued to execute at the line as time wore on and forced three Iona turnovers to take the lone matchup between the two sides this year.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Gomez went 6-of-11 from the field on the way to a game-high 14 points. It was her 15^th double-digit scoring performance of the season.
• Ward scored nine of her 10 points in the first half for the Gaels. She tallied her 10^th game scoring double figures on the year. She also grabbed a team-high six rebounds to pair with three assists and two steals.
• DePetrillo added nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
• Fajardo finished the game with eight points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists.

THE OPPONENT

• Safiatu Kolliegbo recorded 14 points, five assists, four steals and four rebounds to lead Niagara.
• Marlie Dickerson chipped in 12 points and a game-high five steals.
• Amelia Strong registered 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

TEAM STATS

• Iona out shot Niagara, 44.9% to 33.9% from the field.
• The Gaels recorded eight made three-pointers at a 44.4% while the Purple Eagles made five triples at a 50% rate.
• Niagara commanded the game at the charity stripe, going 18-of-24 at the line while Iona was only 4-of-7 at the foul line.
• The Purple Eagles held a slight 34-33 advantage on the glass.
• Niagara scored 30 points off of 24 Iona turnovers while Iona totaled 15 points on 16 Purple Eagle turnovers.

UP NEXT

The Gaels close out the 2024-25 home schedule at the Hynes Athletic Center on Saturday with contest against Canisius. Prior to the game Iona will honor its senior class for Senior Day, that ceremony will begin at 12:41 p.m. prior to the 1 p.m. tipoff.