The Iona women’s basketball team broke two NCAA records on their way to a 90-62 victory over Rider University on Jan. 19.  

The Gaels connected on 15 consecutive three-point field goals, breaking the previous record set by NC State back in 2020.  

The team also set the new NCAA record for three-point field goal percentage as they knocked down 16-18, shooting 88.9% from downtown.  

During the record-breaking performance, Iona had four players score over ten points against the Broncs with Juana Camilion scoring 21, Ketsia Athias scoring 15, Kate Mager also recording 15, and Natalia Otkhmezuri putting up 11. Mager went 5-5 from beyond the arc while Camilion went 4-5 and Otkhmezuri went 3-4. 

The team beat Siena College on Jan. 21 at UHY Center in Loudonville, New York by a score of 68-66. The win over Siena College improved the Gaels’ winning streak to seven in a row dating back to Dec. 31.  

The game against Siena College came down to the final play as Juana Camilion hit the game-winning shot with 30 seconds left to give Iona its seventh straight victory. Camilion scored a game-high 21 points shooting 50%, as Kate Mager scored 20 points matching a season high with six three pointers made.  

After starting the season 6-5, the Gaels have won seven straight games over the winter break from Dec. 31 to Jan. 21, improving their record to 13-5 overall and 8-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). 

Head coach Billi Chambers also added alumni Morgan Rachu as Director of Operations over the winter break. Rachu played two seasons with the Gaels from 2018-2020. Rachu made 154 three-point field goals, ranking eighth in the Iona history books, while also owning two spots in the top ten at Iona for three-point field goals made in a single game.  

The victory over Marist College kickstarted the Gaels’ winning run as they won 76-55 in Poughkeepsie, New York.  

Following the win over the Red Foxes, the Gaels beat Niagara University at home on Jan. 2 by a score of 63-53 to start the new year. Mager scored a season-high 24 points, matching a season-best mark with six three-pointers made. Athias pulled down 17 rebounds, a new career best, while recording a double-double.  

Iona continued to have a strong start to the new year recording a win over Rider University on Jan. 5 by a score of 68-44 taking over first place in the conference. Iona used a 17-0 run to start the second half and limited the Broncs to just 15 points in the second half.  

After taking over first place in the MAAC Iona recorded wins over Mount St. Mary’s University on Jan. 12 (63-44) and Quinnipiac University on Jan. 14 (47-42).   

During Iona’s win over Mount St. Mary’s, Otkhmezuri scored a season-best eighteen points as Camilion posted a ten-point, ten rebound double-double.  

In the game against Quinnipiac University Camilion registered her second consecutive double-double rebounding a career-high thirteen as Mager led the team in scoring with twelve points.  

The team’s next game is at home as they seek to add to their home record, as they take on Saint Peter’s University on Jan. 26. Following this game Iona will celebrate 50 years of women’s basketball on Jan. 28 before they are on the road against Niagara University on Feb. 2 and face Canisius College on Feb. 4. 

The Gaels are trying to win just their second ever MAAC Championship. This season the MAAC Championship is being held in Atlantic City, New Jersey at Boardwalk Hall from March 7- 11.