The Iona Women’s Basketball team ended its season on March 4, when they lost to the Manhattan Jaspers 59-47 in the Quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships in Bridgeport, Conn.

The Gaels were trailing on the scoreboard for a majority of the game. Junior Kristina Ford led all scorers with 18 points while also contributing nine rebounds. Sophomore Diana Hubbard had eight points and nine rebounds.

Junior Tomica Bacic brought down 10 rebounds and had a career high seven assists to lead the team.

This was a tough year for the Gaels, finishing 6th in the MAAC with an 11-20 overall record and a 7-12 conference record.

To many fans and critics, this season;s struggles came as a surprise. Head Coach Anthony Bozzella feels that this season will be the reason why the girls will have a great season next year.

 “I hope all of the girls continue to remember how disappointing of a season this has been so we can add fuel to the fire and come out to have a great season next year,” Bozzella said.

This season was a wake up call for the returning players to work that much harder in next season’s play.

For the season, Ford led the team in points per game, field goals made, three point field goals made, rebounds per game, steals per game, blocked shots and minutes per game.

It is safe to say that Ford was a catalyst for the team this year, and she helped the team stay afloat. They will be looking for this type of leadership next year for her senior season.

The team will be losing senior Marissa Flagg, who was their starting point guard for the majority of this season, who led the team in assists per game with 2.9.

The Gaels also lose senior Anda Ivkovic who scored over 1,150 points in her four years at Iona.

The final senior that they lose will be Catherine Lutz, who is a knock down shooter and was their three point specialist all year.

The Gaels are expecting three newcomers next year to make a heavy impact immediately for the program.

They also have seven juniors coming back for their final season, and they have their captain Suzi Fregosi coming back after suffering a hip injury that kept her on the sidelines for the majority of this season.

The season may have ended in disappointing fashion, but with failure comes success. Next year will bring the Gaels another chance to overcome the disappointment, and to once again become a force in the MAAC.