Last season can be considered an overwhelming success for the Iona women’s basketball team. Despite finishing with a worse record overall, the team improved in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play (from 6-14 in the 2023-2024 season to 8-12 in the 2024-2025 season) and made it to the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championship Tournament.
Each year in Angelika Szumilo’s tenure as head coach of the Gaels has seen improvement from the team, and with a retooled roster and another year of the main core sticking together, the team has the potential to make a massive run in the MAAC this season.
The Gaels have 10 players from last season returning, including starters Ella Fajardo and Zoey Ward.
Fajardo was the only Gael named to any Preseason All-MAAC teams, being named to the second team. Over the summer, she played for the Philippines in FIBA’s Women’s Asia Cup and averaged around ten points, around three rebounds, and around three assists for the Gaels last season. This season, much like the last, she’ll serve as the lead guard and the main person that the offense runs through.
Ward was Iona’s breakout star last season, averaging almost nine points, six rebounds and two assists in addition to a bit over one steal per game. Emerging as a key player for the Gaels, it’s expected that she will play a bigger role in the Gaels play, especially with her appearance alongside Szumilo at the MAAC Tip-Off and with the departure of Judith Gomez creating more opportunities in the frontcourt.
Out of the other returners, expect Chloe Vasquez to be a key player for Iona this season. In limited minutes last season, Vasquez was fifth on the team in points per game, sixth in rebounds per game, and seventh in total assists. With the amount of work she was able to put in that limited time, she could become a standout in the Gaels backcourt with more opportunities and more playing time.
Szumilo and the Gaels also brought in five new players to the team, two freshmen and three transfers.
Both freshmen, forwards Wilma Tuomi and Johanna Flores, have represented countries in international tournaments, with Tuomi representing Finland in 2024’s edition of the FIBA U20 Women’s Eurobasket and Flores representing Mexico in the U18 Women’s AmeriCup in 2024.
The players that transferred in, forward Naomi Barnwell and guards Claudia Fiel and Isabellah Middleton, all bring in years of experience at the college level. Fiel, a junior who transferred in from California Baptist, was a key player in the Lancer’s first NCAA Tournament appearance back in 2024. Barnwell, a graduate student who last played for Robert Morris, was a defensive anchor for the Colonials. Middleton, a graduate student who last played for St. Bonaventure, was a double-digit scorer for the Bonnies last season.
Currently predicted to finish sixth in the MAAC, I can see this team finishing much higher if the team is able to stay healthy and the new names and returning players can gel into one cohesive unit.
