ATLANTIC CITY, NJ —The Iona University women's basketball team upset the No. 7  Saint Peter's, 42-40 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship first round on Tuesday afternoon. The Gaels secured the go-ahead basket with 1:53 left to play held the Peacocks scoreless for the final 4:28 of play to secure the victory.
 
Senior Erin Leary led the Maroon & Gold with 11 points to pair with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Senior Judith Gomez added 10 points. Sophomore Zoey Ward recorded the go-ahead basket and totaled a team-high 12 rebounds along with three steals. Sophomore Mya Zaccagnini dished out a season-high five assists to go with eight second half points.

THE RUNDOWN

Scoring for the second game of the championship was slow to start as senior Ella Fajardo opened the game scoring on the first possession for Iona. From there it was nearly five minutes before the Peacocks got on the scoreboard with a triple. Leary gave Iona back the lead with a spot up three-pointer at the 3:23 mark. The Peacocks answered a minute later with a driving layup before Iona closed out the frame on a triple from Gomez and a buzzer beating layup from rookie Chloe Vasquez for the 10-5 lead at quarters end.
 
Ward continued the momentum to begin the second frame with a layup. The Peacocks then went on an 8-0 run over the next 3:57 to take a 16-14 lead. Gomez broke a five-minute scoring drought for Iona and stopped the Saint Peter's run with a three-pointer to take back the one-point lead. The Peacocks answered with a driving layup before Iona closed the first half with a triple from junior Ale Civera and a hook shot at the buzzer from senior Talia DePetrillo for a 22-18 lead.
 
The Peacocks came out swinging to start the third quarter with an 8-0 opening run to take a 26-22. Zaccagnini broke up the run with the first Iona field goal on a three-pointer with 3:54 to go in the quarter. Saint Peter's answered right back before the Gaels closed out the quarter with two  layups from Zaccagnini and Gomez to take a 29-28 lead.
 
Iona started the fourth quarter on a 6-1 run thanks to a pair of triples from Leary. Saint Peter's followed with another driving layup before Zaccagnini gave the Gaels a 38-32 lead with 7:02 left to play. The Peacocks punched back once again with a 7-2 run to tie the game up at 40-40 with 4:28 to go. Scoring slowed till the 1:53 mark as Zaccagnini found Ward on the low block for the go-ahead basket. The Gaels defense caused three Saint Peter's turnovers down the stretch. The Peacocks had one more chance to tie the game at the foul line with one second remaining but missed both free throws to give Iona the 42-40 lead.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Eight different Gaels contributed points in the win.
• Leary shot 4-of-7 from the field with three made three-pointers. Eight of her team-high 11 points were scored in the second half.
• Gomez registered eight of her 10 points in the first half for Iona.
• Zaccagnini had a strong second half for the Gaels recording all eight of her points in the final two quarters.
• Ward registered a team-high 12 rebounds along with three steals.

THE OPPONENT

• All-MAAC First Team honoree Fatmata Janneh registred a double-double with a game-high 17 points and 18 rebounds to go with three blocks.
• De'Naya Rippey recorded 11 points along with five rebounds and three assists.

TEAM STATS

• A low shooting affair on Tuesday as Iona out shot Saint Peter's 29.8% to 27.3%
• The Gaels recorded eight made three-pointers while the Peacocks were held to five made triples.
• Iona held the rebounding advantage 42-38 over Saint Peter's.
• Saint Peter's scored 16 points on 18 Iona turnovers while the Gaels scored 12 points on 14 Peacock turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• The Gaels advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time as the no. 10 seed. The first time was back on March 7, 2019, a 75-64 win over No. 7 Siena.
• Iona did not attempt a free throw in a game for the first time since December 16, 2017 a road setback at St. Francis Brooklyn.
• Leary finished in double figures scoring for the ninth time this season.
• Gomez recorded her fourth straight double-digit scoring effort and 18^th time eclipsing 10 plus points this season.
• Ward tied her career-high with 12 rebounds on the day. It was the third time this year that she has posted 10-plus rebounds. She also led the Maroon & Gold in steals for the 11^th time this season.

UP NEXT

The Gaels are moving on to the Quarterfinal round of the 2025 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship and take on No. 2 Quinnipiac at 2:30 p.m. from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.