Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Iona defeated Saint Peter's 65-51 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) women's basketball action on Monday.
Sajanna Bethea (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) paced the Peacocks (2-10, 0-3 MAAC) with 16 points while Talah Hughes (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) added 14 points in the loss.
Joy Adams powered the Gaels (8-7, 4-0 MAAC) with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Marina Lizarazu added 17 points in the winning effort.
Iona took the lead from the opening tip and never looked back to earn the victory.
The Gaels started the game by scoring the first nine points of the game and 13 of the first 15 points thanks to eight points by Adams.
Saint Peter's then answered with a 9-0 run to trim the margin to 13-11 with 3:52 left in the first quarter. Hughes started the run with four-straight points before Bethea drained a jumper at 4:28 and Hala Mostafa (Cairo, Egypt/Modern Narmer Language School) drilled a trey at 3:52 to make it a two-point game.
Fueled by four points by Adams, Iona responded with the next nine points to restore a double-digit lead and ended the first quarter with a 26-15 advantage.
The second quarter was low scoring with both teams combining for 11 points to help the Gaels go into the locker room with a 32-20 advantage.
Iona used a 9-0 run in the third quarter powered by four points from Lizarazu to extend its lead to 49-28 with 2:32 left, but six-straight points by Bethea, Mostafa and Neechelle Ingram cut the margin to 49-35 after three quarters.
The Peacocks trimmed the deficit to 59-49 after an Alyssa Velles (Franklin, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) steal and layup with 61 seconds left, but the Gaels went on for the 65-51 decision.
Mostafa stuffed the stats sheet with nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Rebecca Sparks (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) posted seven assists on the night.
Saint Peter's, who is in the midst of four home games in a seven-day span, returns to action on Wednesday against Monmouth. Game time is 5 p.m. It is Kid's Day Out with an estimated 200 children from the local Jersey City schools to be in attendance.
