What a Week!

First, I wanted to say sorry for not keeping everyone updated with this past week's events...it's been a crazy week of games, travelling and more games!!

So, we started off with a home game against Canisius on Monday (2/15). Playing without two of our starters, Anda and Z, we all knew that in order to win, it needed to be a team effort. And sure enough, the whole team came ready to play and we pulled off the W. Anna and Kris both had another double-double, while Milica came up with ten rebounds and five blocks! The inside game was a force to be reckoned with, ending with a 24-6 point advantage in the paint. But when I said it was a team effort, I meant it...we also added nine 3-pointers from five different players (Suzi, Diana, Kris, Tomica & Cat).

After the Canisius game, we had to put the win behind us and focus on Loyola's game on Wednesday (2/17). We were supposed to play Loyola on Friday (2/12), but like I mentioned in the previous post, it got rescheduled due to all the snow Maryland got!

We came into practice on Tuesday and left for MD right after...and when we got down there, we saw why the game got rescheduled! Snow, snow and more snow!! Two-lane roads were now one-lane and you still couldn't walk on the sidewalks because they were buried 3-4 feet under a pile of snow! Snow aside, we knew the game was going to be a tough one. Thazina was back in action but Loyola is NEVER an easy place to play. And, like we expected, it was a battle...the whole game. We ended up winning by 2 after Loyola threw up a full court shot that made all of our stomach's drop for about 2.2 seconds! Another W under our belt, we headed back up to NY to get ready for our Fairfield game.

We played at Fairfield on Friday (2/19). Again, another battle of a game, and our girls pushed through it as much as they could. We couldn't have asked for a better effort, but when you have trouble putting the ball in the basket, it can make it tough to win the game. Unfortunately, that's what happened to us at Fairfield...we performed well in almost every stat possible, except shots made. Again, great effort by every single player on our team, we just came up short in the end.

For the 3rd time of the week, we put the game behind and went into practice focused on our next game, St. Peter's on Sunday (2/21). The team went into St. Peter's, which is one of the hardest places to play in the MAAC, determined to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Defense was the primary focus (as it always is) and we really proved that at St. Peter's, winning 57-41.

With this win, we clinched 2nd place in the regular season standings; however, we still have 2 home games left...Marist this Friday and Rider on Sunday. The Marist game is our "Pack the House" game, so make sure EVERYONE comes to cheer us on...and Rider is our Senior Day, where we will honor our 2 seniors--Z and Anna. Two more regular season games...LET'S GO GAELS!!

Snow!!

What a day yesterday with all of the snow!! We got about a foot and a half and the school was shut down all day yesterday and early this morning. NY isn't the only place that got hit with the blizzard...MD got another 10 inches on top of the 30 that fell from the storm this past weekend. Because of this, our game at Loyola this Friday has been rescheduled for Wed. Feb 17th at 4:30 p.m. It's going to be a long week of games coming up, but I'm sure everyone is ready for it!! :)

Marist & Siena Trip

What a weekend!!!!!! Good , bad and UGLY..

Friday night was a crazy setting!!! The top 2 teams in the MAAC....Great rivals!! A showdown for FIRST place in a SOLD OUT environment. It really doesn't get any better than that. Another great reason to be a LADY GAEL!!!

We started off fast, taking a 7-3 lead, to somewhat quiet down the crowd. Unfortunately, Marist got super hot from 3 point range and took the lead from us. We battled hard all night but just couldn't dig out of the early hole. We ended up losing by a score of 10.

We then boarded a bus and headed up to Albany, NY to play Siena. We had a great practice on Saturday (putting the loss behind us) and on Sunday we came out on FIRE!! We led 25-9 and really controlled the whole first half.

Unfortunately, we were reminded of a great lesson...Basketball games are 2 halves!! Siena came out shooting and made 8 of 9 three point attempts and tied the game right at the end. We went to overtime and lost right at the end. It was very disappointing. As well as we played in the first half, we played that bad in the second half.

I know we learned a great lesson and this will only make us stronger for the last 6 regular season games and our MAAC tournament playoffs!!

We are still in second place at 9-3...one game behind first place Marist.
We have 3 home games left...Hope to see you there!!

Rider & Fairfield Highlights

Check out all the great plays from last week's games!

Another Good Set of Games

These last two games (at Rider and home against Fairfield) were crucial wins going into the second half of conference play. Our 85-60 win over Rider set a new school record for consecutive regular season MAAC wins, as well as most consecutive overall wins (8 game win streak). The 75-63 win over Fairfield extended that record to 9 wins in a row.

From the opening basket of the Rider game, we led the way and never looked back. Anna led with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Cat had 12 points (4-of-5 from three point range) while Kristina, Anda & Z each had 10 points. We were also extremely happy with Marissa's career-high 8 assists! Our bench played a very important role in this game, as every single player played in the game...they contributed 35 points! It was a great team victory.

Our MSG TV game against Fairfield on Monday was a great atmosphere to play in. Cameras, screaming fans and great competition made it exciting to be a part of! Z played extremely well with a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds (her 3rd double-double of the year). Kristina also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Our point guard, Suzi, showed what she's capable of with 14 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Anda also scored in double digits with 12 points and adding 2 steals.

Our win against Fairfield put us tied for 1st place (with Marist) in the MAAC. We play Marist this Friday in Poughkeepsie, NY in front of a sold-out crowd. It's going to be another great Iona-Marist competitive game and we are excited to get it started. We'll also be playing Siena on Sunday, which will also be a very competitive game...can't overlook anyone at any point!

Another highlight video from the last 2 games will be up soon...be sure to check it out!

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.