NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The Iona University women's basketball team fell to Merrimack, 87-63 on Thursday afternoon. The Warriors pulled ahead of the Gaels thanks to a torrid first quarter start at Lawler Arena to split the season series between the two teams.

Graduate student Ella Fajardo registered a season-high 21 points for the Gaels. Graduate student Isabellah Middleton posted her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. She also dished out a team-high three assists along with junior Zoey Ward.

THE RUNDOWN

Merrimack raced out to an early five-point lead before Iona used a 6-2 spurt on triples from junior Mya Zaccagnini and senior Ale Civera to get started. It was back and forth from there before the Warriors erupted on a 21-5 closing stretch that saw six made three-pointers to take a 32-14 advantage.
 
Merrimack continued to extend its lead in the second stanza out scoring Iona 13-4 in the quarter. The Warriors shot 56.3% from the field while Iona was held to a season-low 18.2% in the first half.
 
Iona's offense responded in the second half shooting 52.8% from the field and 70% from downtown. Fajardo led the way with 19 second half points for the Gaels. Middleton chipped in 10 points to pair with seven rebounds in the final two quarters. Iona outscored Merrimack 45-42 but the first half deficit was too large to overcome, giving the Warriors the wire-to-wire home victory.

IONA PERFORMERS

• Fajardo posted her second 20-point performance of the season. She made eight field goals including a career-high five three-pointers on the way to a season best 21 points.
• Middleton registered her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points to pair with a team-high 11 rebounds.
• Ward and graduate student Naomi Barnwell both finished with eight points and six rebounds for the Gaels.

THE OPPONENT

• Merrimack had five scorers finish in double figures led by a game-high 22 points by Oralye Kiefer.
• Paloma Garcia and Madison Roman both tallied a double-double for the Warriors. Garcia recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds while Roman picked up 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
• Reigning MAAC Player of the Week Lydia Melashenko chipped in 16 points and Se'Lah Reddick added 12 points.

TEAM STATS

• Merrimack shot 53.1% as a team while Iona shot 35.6% for the game.
• The Warriors made an opponent high 11 three-pointers at a 40.7% and the Gaels connected on 10 tripes at 37%
• Merrimack won the rebounding battle 40-36 for the game.
• Iona tied its season low with nine turnovers that led to 11 points for the Warriors. The Gaels forced eight turnovers leading to eight points.

UP NEXT

The Gaels cap the road weekend on Saturday, January 31 with a matchup at rival, Manhattan. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Draddy Gymnasium.