Iona College women’s basketball senior guard Damika Martinez became the program’s all-time leading scorer with a 37-point performance in the Gaels’ 82-80 loss to Sacred Heart Nov. 16 at the Hynes Athletics Center. She now has 2,023 career points.

Junior forward Joy Adams also made history in the game against Sacred Heart. She netted her 1,000th career point, becoming the 24th player in program history to reach this milestone. In the game, she posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“We talk about them all the time; we talk about how hard they work,” head coach Billi Godsey said. “It’s great to be a part of; it’s great to witness. It’s exciting to have them as the leaders of this group so they can put the freshmen in the right place of how hard you need to work to be successful.”

The Maroon & Gold (2-4) have a tough non-conference schedule that features teams that have been to either the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT each of the last two seasons.

Prior to the loss to Sacred Heart, Iona opened the season with a 72-51 road win over the Fordham Rams. The Gaels raced out to a 33-11 lead.

Martinez led the way, scoring 27 points. Adams compiled a double-double with 23 points, 12 boards and a game-high five steals. Sophomore guard Marina Lizarazu amassed 11 points and seven assists.

“It was a good win for us against a good team and a big team,” Martinez said.

However, as the Gaels strayed from the New York area for their next three games, they did not find much luck as they dropped all three contests.

Iona lost at Bowling Green 80-59 Nov. 18. The Maroon & Gold trailed the entire game and faced a 12-point deficit at halftime. The Falcons, one of the top mid-major teams in the country, pulled away at the end, outscoring Iona 13-4 over the final three minutes of the contest.

Adams posted team-highs with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Martinez contributed 18 points.

Five days later, the Gaels traveled to California for a showdown with the Pacific Tigers. Iona fell 64-49.

Pacific raced out to a 13-2 lead in the first five minutes of the contest. The Maroon & Gold battled back and took the lead with a 15-0 run of their own. Later in the first half, the Tigers reeled off 10 straight points to take the lead for good.

Pacific converted 21 Iona turnovers into 22 points. The Gaels also struggled shooting the ball, connecting on 34.6 percent of their shot attempts.

Martinez led all scorers with 21 points. Lizarazu added 13 points.

The Maroon & Gold continued their road trip with a trip to Kansas on Thanksgiving Eve. The Jayhawks prevailed 90-49.

Kansas used a 27-2 run in the first half to take control of the game and led 40-12 at halftime. The lead got as large as 45 (82-37) with just over four minutes left in the game.

Martinez again had the most points, compiling 25. Lizarazu scored nine points, and Adams grabbed 13 rebounds.

“If we don’t bring energy, we are going to struggle,” Adams said. “We got to pick it up on the defensive end.”

The Gaels returned home for a matchup with Stony Brook Nov. 30. Iona won 73-62. The Maroon & Gold used a 16-0 first-half run to seize control of the game.

Martinez scored 29 points, which moves her into fourth place on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) all-time scoring list. For her performance, she was named the MAAC Player of the Week.

Adams recorded 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Maroon & Gold are scheduled to begin MAAC play Dec. 5 with a trip to Rider. Two days later, Iona visits Monmouth.

“Every game in the MAAC is going to be tough,” associate head coach Ashlee Kelly said. “The competition, the intensity level is completely different than in non-conference. We’re going to be ready; we’re going to be prepared.”

The Gaels are slated to return to non-conference play with home games against Central Florida on Dec. 14 and Rutgers on Dec. 20.