Manhattan & Niagara Game Highlights

For those of you who didn't get a chance to see one or both of our games this past weekend, here are a few of the highlights...Enjoy!

Diana Hubbard Named MAAC Rookie of the Week

We are very excited that our freshman, Diana Hubbard, was recognized for her performance in our games against Manhattan and Niagara this past weekend. She has earned the award by averaging 7.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal in the last 2 games.

She netted six points against Manhattan, hitting 2-of-3 from three-point range. In a close first half vs. the Jaspers, it was Diana's trifecta with 3:42 on the clock that put us ahead for good in the contest. Against Niagara, the first-year guard added nine points and four boards with an assist and a steal. Diana is averaging 7.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in conference play.

We hope she can continue to play well and keep bringing that extra spark in our next set of games...at Rider this Friday, Jan 29th and home against Fairfield on Monday, Feb 1st.

Thazina Cook Named MAAC Player of the Week

Sorry for the late update, but we wanted to be sure all of our blog fans were aware that our senior co-captain, Thazina Cook, was named MAAC Player of the Week for her performance against Niagara, Siena & St. Peter's (Jan 11-18).

This is the second such award for Z in her career, and the first weekly award for our team this season. Z averaged 19.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals per game in our three wins this past week. She extended her double digit scoring streak to seven straight games with a career-high 24 points against Saint Peter's after posting 15 at Niagara and 19 against Siena.

We finish out our 4 game home game streak this weekend with Manhattan tomorrow and Niagara on Sunday. See you all there!

NY Liberty Clinic Goes GREAT!

On Monday, Jan 18th, the NY Liberty came to Iona and put on a clinic for about 85 kids. They taught them shooting, dribbling, ball handling and passing skills. After everyone went through the 4 stations, they played a dribbling game and did a relay race that got the clinic nice and loud! After the hour of basketball activities, they had a question and answer session for some fun NY Liberty prizes, as well as had a pizza party while our team warmed up for our game against St. Peter's.

Speaking of games, we beat Siena (Jan 16th) and St. Peter's (Jan 18th), pushing our winning streak to 5 games. The girls played well but are now focused on this weekend's home games...Manhattan on Friday the 22nd and Nigara on Sunday the 24th. It's the first 2 teams we are playing for the 2nd time, which means they will be much more competitive and a harder W to get under our belt...but we're ready and can't wait for the games to get here!

Age is Just a Number

Yesterday the team went to the Wartburg Adult Care Community to spend some time with the residents. Saying the team had a good time would be an understatement; they went above and beyond to make sure these women had a great day! At one point, they had a group of the staff members crowded around to see what all the commotion was. Singing, dancing, stepping...it all happened, as well as story telling and just getting to know one another.

One nice surprise was we met former player, Jen Ritz, and current manager, Mike Ritz's great aunt! It was so great getting to meet everyone, and I know everyone is looking forward to going back after the season. And we'll try to get them to one of our games, as well :)

2-0 in Buffalo

Buffalo is always a tough trip...the extremely cold winter weather and the 2 competitive games are always something the team really needs to mentally and physically prepare for. The 5 day trip ended successfully as we beat Canisius on Saturday (60-48) and Niagara on Monday (59-51), neither of which were easy games, to say the least.

The Canisius game started out great, we were scoring, playing great defense and really playing team basketball. However, in MAAC games, you can never let your guard down. Although Canisius got within 3 points at one time during the game, the leaders of the team stepped up and did what they had to do...taking care of the ball was a major key in the victory. Z and Anda both had 14 points, Anna added 12, and Kristina had 9 points (3-3 from beyond the arc).

Sealing the win against Niagara gave us the 2-0 record in Buffalo we'd been looking for to help us have a relaxing trip back to New Rochelle...last time we have done that was during the 2007-08 season. Kristina showed us that she's back on her game, scoring 17 points, grabbing 2 rebounds and getting 3 steals...but her intangibles are what really give us the extra boost (enthusiam, hussle, etc.)

One thing that helped out a lot this year that we have never really experienced up in Buffalo were all the fans cheering for US! Sam Kopp, being from the Buffalo area, brought in vans full of cheering fans. As well as Ashlee Kelly, whose family lives not too far away. We were so happy to have their families there with us, and glad they all could make the trip to see us play. Thanks for the support!! :)

Cook Reached Scoring Milestone

"Thazina Cook reached the milestone of 1,000 career points during Iona's 79-62 victory over Manhattan on Jan. 5 in Riverdale, N.Y. Cook, a 5-foot-9 senior guard from Newark, N.J., becomes the 19th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point mark.

This feat marks the latest of many achievements in Cook's decorated career in Maroon & Gold. Cook's exceptional talent, leadership, and versatility make the two-year captain a tremendously valuable player for the Gaels.

'I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to coach Thazina these last 3-plus years,' head coach Anthony Bozzella said. 'She has been so easy to coach because of her willingness to learn and her unbelievable work ethic and desire to succeed. Her work ethic is unsurpassed by any player I have ever coached. She is also a tremendous leader and competitor.'

Cook has distinguished herself as one of the top players in the MAAC, earning a place on the 2008-2009 All-MAAC First Team and the 2009-2010 Preseason All-MAAC First Team.
In addition to her prolific scoring, Cook has compiled 527 rebounds, 77 assists, and 156 steals in her career.

Since entering Iona as a talented rookie out of Bloomfield Tech three years ago, Cook has developed into one of the premier players in the MAAC. As a freshman in 2006-07, Cook made an immediate impact, playing in 33 games as the lone freshman on a team that advanced to the WNIT for the first time in school history.

Cook had a breakout year as a sophomore, when she averaged 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her first year as a starter. She helped the Gaels reach the WNIT for the second year in a row.

As a junior, Cook elevated her game to new heights. She led the Gaels in scoring (14.8 points per game) and rebounding (6.7 rebounds per game). Indicative of her defensive prowess, Cook ranked fourth in the MAAC with 2.2 steals per game. Cook recorded eight double-doubles on the season. Cook earned All-MAAC first team honors and won Iona's Most Valuable Player award at the team's year-end banquet in April 2009.

Cook's senior campaign is off to a stellar start, as she is averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. With several games still to be played, Cook now looks to put the finishing touches on her outstanding career.

'There is NO doubt in my mind she will go down as one of the greatest players to wear an Iona women's basketball uniform,' Bozzella said." -Michael Sacks

First Week of MAAC Play Ends in Spilt

After losing a tough game to Loyola on Sunday night, the team came out ready to go on Tuesday at Manhattan.

In our MAAC home opener against Loyola, Diana led the team with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Anna almost had another double-double for the year with 9 points and 17 rebounds (2nd best rebounding total since our season-opener). Suzi had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. This game goes to show you (which I'm sure everyone knows), that pre-season rankings do not mean anything...it's all about what you bring on a day-to-day basis. And on Sunday, Loyola brought it harder than we did.

However, Tuesday against Manhattan was a different story for us. We went into that game determined to make sure we got the W. Anna and Kristina both had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Diana scored in double digits with 11 points, as well as Thazina with 20 points. Z (Thazina) reached her 1,000th career point against Manhattan, making her only the 19th player in school history to reach this feat...CONGRATS Z!

We leave tomorrow morning for Buffalo for our games against Canisius and Niagara. Gotta make sure we back lots of scarfs, mittens and sweats to stay warm up there!!

MAAC is Back!!

What a way to start off the new year and new decade...MAAC play starts today and we all couldn't be more excited and ready! This is what we've been waiting for and working so hard for the last 8+ months. It's why the girls push through early morning summer workouts, preseason conditioning and lifting, and a tough non-conference schedule...we can only hope that they are prepared enough to go out there and do what needs to be done.

We start with a home game tonight against Loyola-MD and then go to Manhattan College on Tuesday (Jan. 5th). Next week we'll be up in Buffalo to play Canisius and Niagara. But we'll keep you updated with all the details as the schedule plays on.

Here we go!!! Let's Go Gaels!!