Marist women’s basketball lost their first home game of the season 69-67 to Iona, who remains undefeated in the MAAC Conference.
Iona sophomore forward Zoey Ward delivered a new career high with 18 points, along with the game-winning free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining in the game. Ward also picked up two blocks and four steals in the contest.
Junior center Morgan Lee led the way for the Red Foxes with 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field with nine rebounds to go along with that, while redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul put up 15 points herself.
Iona started out the evening with Ward and senior guard Ella Fajardo knocking down the teams’ first three attempts from beyond the arc.
The Red Foxes responded to an early 8-0 run by the Gaels through the use of Tarul and sophomore guard Julia Corsentino. The duo each knocked down shots from long-range to cut the Iona lead to two.
Ward continued her strong first quarter, drilling her third 3-pointer and delivering an assist after a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Mya Zaccagnini which stretched the lead to 22-14. The Gaels went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first quarter despite shooting it at just 26 percent from that category so far this season.
Marist struggled with turnovers on the offensive end early on, in part due to the full-court press that Iona was applying. The Red Foxes turned it over six times to the Gaels’ two in the first quarter.
Junior forward Ciara Croker looked to change the pace for the Red Fox offense as she knocked down a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the first quarter. Croker opened up the second quarter with a mid-range jumper and an easy layup after an offensive rebound to give herself nine points in the early going.
Tarul continued to stay in a groove late in the quarter with her third 3-pointer to make it 38-35 Red Foxes. She led all Marist scorers at the half with 11 points, while Ward guided the way for the Gaels with 13 points.
Lee opened up the scoring out of the half for the Red Foxes with back-to-back triples to bring her total to 15 points. Later in the quarter, junior guard Jackie Piddock drove to the basket to find an easy layup with the shot clock winding down, bringing Marist to a six-point advantage midway through the third quarter.
Senior guard Catie Cunningham scored her first points of the game by forcing a turnover and completing a 3-point play in transition, finishing with a Euro-step to make it 52-44 Red Foxes.
Freshman guard Danielle Williamsen delivered her first 3-pointer following the Gaels taking the lead for a moment to open up the final quarter. Lee followed that up by banking in a mid-range shot from the left-side elbow to bring the lead back up to four for the Red Foxes.
The game intensity picked up in the final two minutes when the Gaels forced a turnover by intercepting a pass from Piddock to give themselves possession down just one score.
Iona went to Ward, who put up a 3-point shot but missed. The Red Foxes made them pay with a Lee layup to make it 65-62. Fajardo quickly responded with a tough turn-around jumper.
Marist went back to Lee, this time from beyond the arc, but her missed attempt gave the Gaels a chance to take the lead with 27.2 seconds remaining.
Freshman guard Chloe Vasquez gave Iona a one-point lead, driving to the basket to finish the layup with 19.2 seconds remaining.
Lee drew a double team in the paint with nine seconds remaining, leaving Croker wide-open under the basket for an easy layup to give the Red Foxes a 67-66 advantage.
Iona went to Ward out of the timeout and she drew the foul to send her to the free-throw line. Ward rattled in the first and made the second to put the Gaels back in front 68-67 with 6.6 seconds remaining.
Marist would turn the ball over on the inbound and were forced to foul Vasquez quickly with 4.1 seconds remaining.
After one made free throw from the Gaels, the Red Foxes got it into Croker at the top of the key, but she missed a tough 3-point attempt as she was covered tightly by Leary, sealing the victory in a super even contest between Iona and Marist.
The Red Foxes, now 2-1 in conference play, will have just one day off before a road matchup against Quinnipiac on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo from Kira Crutcher
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