NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Iona College women’s basketball senior guard Damika Martinez (Meriden, CT) became the all-time leading scorer in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference history in a 59-54 loss to Marist Friday evening at the McCann Center. Entering the game just two points shy of the all-time mark, Martinez quickly established the new bench mark with a three-pointer with 18:11 remaining in the first half, that gave the Gaels a 5-3 edge.
Overall, Martinez scored 13 points in the game and knocked down a trio of three-pointers, becoming the first player in league history to connect on 300 career trifectas. With 2,478 points, she is now 61st on the Division I all-time scoring ledger. Martinez already holds the MAAC record for career three-pointers, set this past December at ETSU.
Martinez is the nation’s active leader in points, and field goals with 891. She also ranks in the top four among active players in scoring average (20.5 points per game) and three-point field goals (300), while ranking top-10 in three-point field goal percentage (40.2%).
Martinez entered the game ranked third nationally in scoring this season, averaging 24.0 points per game. A season ago, she averaged 24.9 points per outing, which ranked eighth overall in the country. A season ago, she became the first AP All-American Honorable Mention and All-Met Player of the Year in program, and was also named to the All-MAAC and All-Met First Teams and All-ECAC Second Team.
Prior to the 2015 season, Martinez was named a Preseason All-American by the Sporting News and was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She was recently named a candidate for the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top point guard in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
Martinez was also named to the Mid-Season Watch List for the Dawn Staley Award, given annually to the most outstanding collegiate guard in the country; a player who exemplifies the skills that Staley possessed during her career; ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win.
