Box Score WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Iona went on a 23-4 run covering the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third quarter to defeat the Monmouth University women's basketball team, 64-49, Sunday afternoon at the Multipurpose Activity Center. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 6-12 (4-5 MAAC), while the Gaels improve to 12-9 (8-2 MAAC).
Jasmine McCall (Manalapan, NJ/Manalapan [Seton Hall]) and
Jasmine Walker (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) led the Hawks with nine points apiece off the bench, while
Christina Mitchell (Baltimore, MD/MATHS) had a team-high 10 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Jamiyah Bethune (Union, NJ/Union [Penn State]) added eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Joy Adams led Iona with 20 points, 15 rebounds and four steals, while Marina Lizarazu and Philecia Gilmore scored 13 points apiece. Lizarazu narrowly missed a double-double with nine assists. Aaliyah Robinson also chipped in with nine points, while Alexis Lewis scored seven points.
“Iona is a great team. Credit goes to Iona today, because they outplayed us in every area,” said Monmouth Head Coach
Jenny Palmateer. “They executed their offensive and defensive schemes better than we did and they just played a lot harder. We know that when you're playing a team at the top of the conference, you can't afford to not match their aggressiveness and toughness.”
Monmouth jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the early going on a baseline jumper from Mitchell and a three from Bethune. Iona scored the next six points, including the last four from Lizarazu, to take its first lead of the game. After a Walker three off a
Sarah Olson (Freehold, NJ/Howell [NJIT]) drive and kick tied the game at 8-8 at the 2:36 mark, Adams drove and pulled up for a short jumper at the 1:32 mark and Iona led, 10-8, after one.
Tyese Purvis (Queens, NY/Francis Lewis [Monroe C.C.]) immediately hit a three as Monmouth retook the lead, 11-10, in the opening moments of the second quarter. Iona took it right back as Lewis scored on consecutive fast-break lay-ups before 30 seconds had ticked off the clock in the quarter. An Olson three tied the game at 14-14 just over a minute into the period, but Gilmore immediately answered with a three of her own and the Gaels continued to hold a lead until Monmouth went on a 9-2 run later in the period. Walker got things started with a lay-up,
Dana Carbone (Toms River, NJ/Monsignor Donovan) hit a three-pointer and McCall capped the run with a pair of buckets in the paint as Monmouth recaptured a 27-26 lead with 1:49 left in the half. But Iona scored the next five points as part of an 8-2 spurt to end the half and a 23-4 run covering the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. Iona would not trail again.
Adams scored on a pair of lay-ups to open the third quarter, before feeding Lizarazu for a three for the first seven points of the period. Following a Monmouth timeout, a jumper in the paint from
McKinzee Barker (Bomont, WV/Clay County) temporarily stopped the bleeding. But Iona continued to run with the next eight points, including a pair of Robinson three-pointers, to extend to a 49-31 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter. Monmouth scored the final four points of the third and the first two of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 51-41, but could draw no closer.
For the game, Monmouth narrowly outshot Iona, 37.73 percent (20-53) to 37.70 percent (23-61) from the floor. The Gaels took a 40.0 percent (10-25) to 38.5 percent (5-13) edge from long range and a 66.7 percent (8-12) to 50.0 percent (4-8) advantage from the free-throw line. Iona outrebounded the Hawks, 40-33, took a 12-5 edge in second-chance points and outscored Monmouth, 26-11, off turnovers. Monmouth's bench outscored that of Iona, 23-7.
The Hawks return to action Thursday when they travel to Connecticut to take on Quinnipiac. Opening tip of the men's and women's doubleheader from the TD Bank Sports Center is slated for 5 p.m.
