ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The No. 4 seed Iona University women's basketball team battled No. 1 Quinnipiac to the brink in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals, falling 63-62 in overtime at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The Maroon & Gold conclude the 2025-26 season with 20-12 overall and 12-8 in MAAC play.
 
Junior Zoey Ward registered a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for her 10^th double-double of the season. Graduate student Naomi Barnwell continued her stellar tournament with a career-high 20 points to go with a season-high nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Graduate student Isabellah Middleton registered 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

THE RUNDOWN

Bobcats got off to a five-point opening run to begin the day of semifinal action in Atlantic City. The Gaels got rolling shortly after on a driving layup from Ward, a knock down triple from Barnwell and then a steal and score from Middleton to take the brief lead. Quinnipiac quickly knotted it up before the Gaels used a 7-2 stretch on another three-pointer from Barnwell and layups from Ward and junior Claudia Fiel. The Bobcats got the last basket of the first frame to cut Iona's lead to 14-12.
 
Iona started the first minute of the second quarter strong with back-to-back layups from Fiel and junior Mya Zaccagnini. The Bobcats countered with a 10-point run to take back the lead at 22-18. A free throw from Middleton broke up the run just out of the media timeout. There it was back-and-forth action as Quinnipiac held an 8-6 edge to take a 30-22 halftime lead.
 
The Gaels came out firing to begin the second half with an 11-2 run through the first 2:57 of action. Ward and Barnwell paced the offense with six and five points apiece as the Bobcats called timeout to regroup. Quinnipiac punched back out of the break with a five-point run to take back the lead before Ward countered with another three-pointer. The two sides traded leads from there as the Bobcats grabbed a final three-pointer to knot the score at 45-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Both teams traded shots at the lead all quarter long with a 12-12 scoring margin in the fourth quarter. Iona grabbed the lead with 2:14 to play on a layup from Middleton. Quinnipiac tied it up with one minute to go. Both teams had the ball once in the final minute but were unsuccessful final possessions to force the extra period.
 
Iona weathered the Bobcats attack to begin overtime, with a 5-4 scoring margin through the first 2:20 as a triple from Ward gave the team a 62-61 lead. Quinnipiac reclaimed the lead with 27 seconds to go. The Gaels final shot attempt missed off the glass as the one-seed secured its title game berth.

IONA PERFORMERS

Ward registered 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting to pair with 10 rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Barnwell was 7-of-12 on her way to a career-high 20 points along with a season-high nine rebounds and a season-high four assists. She also recorded two blocked shots on the defensive end.

THE OPPONENT

• MAAC Sixth Player of the Year Karson Martin led the Bobcats with 19 points, five assists and a pair of steals.
• Ella Ryan posted 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Anna Foley chipped in 12 points, five boards and four assists along with two blocked shots.
• Ella O'Donnell led the Bobcats with 10 rebounds on the day.

TEAM STATS

• Iona shot 43.4% for the game while Quinnipiac was 35.3% as a team.
• The Gaels connected on seven three-pointers at 33.3% and the Bobcats made eight triples at 30.8%.
• Quinnipiac won the battle on the glass, 43-32.
• The Gaels scored 13 points off 12 Quinnipiac turnovers while the Bobcats only netted nine points off 13 Iona turnovers.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• The Gaels went 20-12 and 12-8 in league play in head coach Angelika Szumilo's third season at the helm. It was a nine-win improvement overall and a four-win improvement in conference play.
• Iona graduates six seniors in Barnwell, Middleton, graduate students Yannie Chan and Ella Fajardo along with four-year seniors and MAAC Champions, Civera and Amaya B. Evans.
• Ward had a breakout junior campaign in 2025-26, recording her seventh 20-point effort and 10^th double-double of the season in the finale.
• Barnwell registered her best game as a member of the Maroon & Gold with a career-high in scoring along with a season-best in rebounds and assists.
• Middleton logged her 24^th game in double figures in her final collegiate season. For her career she totaled 1,449 career points, 702 career rebounds, 151 career assists and 205 career steals.
• Fajardo caps her three years as captain for the Gaels, appearing in 94 games with 88 starts. She totaled 771 of her 1021 career points for Iona, ranking 38^th on the program's all-time scoring list. Fajardo also dished out 276 of her 318 career assists for Iona.