ATLANTIC CITY, NJ —The Iona University women's basketball team fell to No. 2 Quinnipiac in the second game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinals, 71-59 on Wednesday afternoon. The Maroon & Gold close the 2024-25 season with an 11-21 record and 8-12 mark in MAAC Play.
First-year guard
Chloe Vasquez led the Maroon & Gold with 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Senior
Judith Gomez registered nine points in the final game of her Maroon & Gold career. Senior
Talia DePetrillo chipped in six points and classmate
Erin Leary grabbed five rebounds to go with three assists and a block and steal.
GAME SUMMARY
Both teams traded blows through the opening five minutes, with Quinnipiac holding a slight 8-6 lead into the media timeout. The Bobcats continued to hold serve but the Gaels cut the deficit to one on a triple from DePetrillo with 3:32 left in the frame. A five-point spurt from Quinnipiac created more separation, the Gaels stopped the run on a putback from Vasquez. The Bobcats grabbed a layup in the final seconds of the frame to take a 19-13 lead.
The Gaels started the second frame strong with a pair of made free throws from senior Fajardo and a spot up three-pointer from Gomez. Quinnipiac got its first basket at the 7:52 mark before Iona punched back with a pullup triple from Fajardo to tie the game at 21-21. The Bobcats utilized a 12-2 run to take a 33-23 lead with 3:22 to go, forcing Iona to take its first timeout of the game. Iona responded out of the timeout with a driving layup from Vasquez and another triple from DePetrillo but a 10-5 closing stretch from the Bobcats gave the No. 2 seed a 43-28 halftime lead.
Iona got going in the third quarter on a three-pointer from sophomore
Zoey Ward. Momentum was short lived as Quinnipiac answered with an 11-0 run over the next 3:15 before the Gaels scored again on a pair of free throws from Gomez. The Bobcats extended the lead from there, outscoring the Gaels 22-11 in the third stanza. Quinnipiac held serve in the final quarter to earn the 79-51 quarterfinal win.
IONA PERFORMERS
- Vasquez posted double figures on 5-of-11 shooting to go with five rebounds.
- Gomez added nine points on 3-of-5 shooting along with two rebounds and an assist.
- Leary chipped in four points, five rebounds, three assists to pair with a block and one steal.
- Sophomore Mya Zaccagnini recorded a team-high four assists.
- Redshirt-freshman Taliya Heron registered her first career points with a fourth quarter layup for the Gaels.
THE OPPONENT
- The 2024-25 MAAC Player and Rookie of the Year Gal Raviv posted a game-high 23 points on 11-of-16 shooting and seven assists to lead the Bobcats.
- Ella O'Donnell added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting
- Karson Martin chipped in 11 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds.
TEAM STATS
- Quinnpiac out shot Iona 57.1%-33.3% from the field.
- Both teams made six three-pointers with the Bobcats going 50% from beyond the arc and the Gaels posting a 35.3% clip from distance.
- It was a tight battle on the glass as Quinnipiac held a slight 32-31 rebounding advantage.
- The Bobcats scored 23 points off 17 Iona turnovers while Iona only scored seven points on nine Quinnipiac turnovers.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- The Gaels 2024-25 campaign saw a two-win improvement in conference play from a season ago.
- Gomez ended her four-year Iona career with 121 games played with 99 career starts. Her 779 career points as a member of the Maroon & Gold ranks 37th all-time in program history.
- DePetrillo capped her two-year tenure in New Rochelle with a career senior year, recording career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
- Leary finishes her collegiate career with 1334 points, 808 rebounds, 252 assists, 150 blocks and 132 steals. She joined the Maroon & Gold for her final season and posted 55 blocks on the defensive end. That mark ranks fifth all-time in the program's single season record books.
