The Iona University women’s basketball team lost four straight games dating back to a Jan. 25 game against Canisius College, bringing their record to 2-9 within the MAAC and 7-13 altogether.
Starting with the aforementioned game versus Canisius, Iona fell to the Golden Griffins after a hot start.
Juniors Ella Fajardo and Judith Gomez got on the board right away for the Gaels, scoring early points by means of two layups and a three-pointer. Their efforts allowed Iona to lead 12-10 after the first quarter, but that advantage was soon relinquished.
Canisius surged for a moment thereafter, going on a 14-2 run and leading by 10 points with five minutes to go. Yet, Iona stayed the course as sophomore Petra Oborilova hit a critical jumper and Fajardo scored another layup to bring the score to 26-23 at the half.
An offensive onslaught by the Golden Griffins in the second half dispelled any notion of a Gael comeback, as Canisius ended up winning 53-43.
Iona then held their second consecutive home game as part of Alumni Day on Jan. 27. The visitors, Manhattan College, were riding a four-game winning streak heading into the outing.
After owning a 15-11 in the first quarter, Iona allowed Manhattan to score the first five points of the second and then go on a 6-2 stretch during a three-minute span, leading to a 27-24 score by the half.
Oborilova, who added six points during her 30 minutes of play, hit a free throw to give the Gaels their biggest lead of the day, a nine-point advantage with 6:15 to go in the third.
Despite going three-for-four from the field in the game’s final minute, the Gaels allowed Manhattan back into the game thanks to an eight-point swing in the fourth. Iona lost 64-56 even with three double-digit scorers (DeAngelo, Gomez and Natalia Otkhmezuri.)
Iona packed things up for a one-off match at Mount St. Mary’s University on Feb. 1.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and used a three-pointer deep in the second to lead 31-28 at halftime. Following the intermission, the home team continued their formidable team play, posting two five-plus point stretches in the third and fourth quarters. DeAngelo and Otkhmezuri combined for 27 points even in the 55-48 loss.
Leading into the Maroon and Gold’s Feb. 3 matchup versus Fairfield University, DeAngelo needed just five more scores to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She achieved the feat with a layup in the third quarter, which added to her gameday point total of 13.
Iona dropped the matchup against the MAAC’s top-ranked women’s school 85-49. The Gaels will next face Siena College at Hynes Athletics Center on Feb. 8 before going up north to Marist College two days later.
