HAMDEN, CT — The Iona College women’s basketball team dropped a hard fought 85-74 decision to Quinnipiac Monday morning at the TD Bank Sports Center. With the score tied at 68, the Bobcats outscored the Gaels 17-6 down the stretch to claim the victory.
In a game that included six ties and 19 lead changes, senior guard Damika Martinez led the way for the Gaels with 21 points. Martinez pushed her career total to 2,420 points, moving into third on the MAAC scoring ledger. She is now 48 points shy of the league scoring record, held by Patty Stoffey (2,467). Martinez also added five assists in the game.
Junior forward Joy Adams continued her recent string of strong performances with 15 points and 21 rebounds. She is averaging 21.3 boards per contest over the last three games, along with 18 points.
Junior guard Aaliyah Robinson scored 17 points, connecting on five three-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophomore guard Marina Lizarazu scored 10 points and finished with eight assists.
In the first half, the Iona defense held Quinnipiac to 31.0% shooting and led by as many as 12 points during the stanza. The Maroon & Gold was aided by seven threes in the first half, while holding the Bobcats to just one.
Quinnipiac connected on nine threes in the second period and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 14 second chance points in the frame. The Gaels were unable to continue their strong outside shooting, and were held to two field goals from behind the arc in the second half.
Samantha Guastella led the Bobcats with a game-high 23 points, including 16 in the second half. Val Driscoll added 14 points and 12 boards for Quinnipiac.
Iona is back in action Thursday evening, when it travels to Saint Peter’s for a 7:00 pm start.
