Iona Men, Women Look To Continue Success
MAAC Sports
Iona Men Returns Veteran Leadership
The Iona College men’s basketball team looks to pick up where it left off last season. The Gaels return five of their top seven scorers from last year’s team, which won the MAAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year. Head coach Tim Cluess, now in his fourth year, has guided the Gaels to a sterling 70-34 mark since taking over in 2010, including two NCAA Tournament bids and an appearance in the College Insiders Tournament championship game. The Gaels were picked to finish second in this year’s Preseason Poll, selected by the league’s head coaches.
The return of senior guard Sean Armand and junior forward David Laury, a pair of preseason All-MAAC first team selections, gives the Gaels a strong inside-outside presence. Armand is the MAAC’s leading returning three-point shooter, hitting 3.3 per game and shooting .409 from beyond the arc. The 6-5 Armand averaged 16.6 points per game last year. Laury, a 6-9, 255-pound junior, averaged a “double-double” in his first season for the Gaels with 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. That pair will be bolstered by the return of seniors 6-5 Tre Bowman and 6-2 DaShawn Gomez, 5-9 junior Tavon Sledge and 6-4 sophomore A.J. English. Bowman poured in 20 points in the MAAC Championship final victory over Manhattan, and Sledge score 20 points in the Gaels’ NCAA Tournament game against Ohio State. English was averaging 7.0 points per game before being sidelined with an injury at the end of last season. Iona will also look to some new faces for contributions this season, including senior transfer Mike Poole, who adds a veteran presence after playing in over 100 games in three seasons at Rutgers.
The Gaels open the season on the road at Cleveland State on Nov. 9 before their home debut on Nov. 16 vs. Wofford. Iona also plays at Kansas on Nov. 19, and at last year’s NCAA Tournament Cinderella team, Florida-Gulf Coast, on Dec. 1. Iona will make five appearances on the ESPN family of networks as part of the MAAC’s television package, including Jan. 17 vs. Canisius on ESPNU; Jan. 24 vs. Quinnipiac, Jan. 31 vs. Manhattan and Feb. 21 at Rider on either ESPNU or ESPN3, and March 2 against Rider on ESPN3.
Young, Talented and Experienced Group Returns For Iona Women
The young, talented, and experienced Iona College women’s basketball team will look to the return of some of its top players in the 2013-14 season after appearing in the 2013 MAAC championship game. The Gaels were the top scoring team in the MAAC and finished second in the regular season after posting a 13-5 league record and 20 wins overall in 2012-13. After advancing to the MAAC title game the Gaels earned a spot in the WNIT. Iona was selected second in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Iona’s first year head coach Billi Godsey inherits all five starters from last year’s squad that led the league in scoring. The returning starters are headlined by Preseason Player of the Year and 2012-13 Pepsi Max MAAC Player of the Year Damika Martinez, Preseason All-MAAC First Team member and 2012-13 Rookie of the Year Joy Adams, and Preseason All-MAAC Third Team selection Aleesha Powell. Seniors Sabrina Jeridore and Haley D’Angelo round out the starting five. Preseason Player of the Year Martinez led the league in scoring with 598 points and in 3-point field goals made with 79. She also ranked eighth nationally in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 42.2% from behind the arc. Adams posted a league and Iona best of 16 double-doubles, while also leading the MAAC in rebounding, grabbing 10.7 boards per contest and in field goal percentage, making 49.5% of her shots. 5-6 junior guard, Powell ranked fifth in the league with 3.3 assists per game and ninth in steals with 1.8 per contest. The senior center Jeridore led the league in blocked shots with 102 and blocks per game with 3.1. D’Angelo, of Long Valley, N.J., led the league in assist to turnover ratio and ranked in the top five in assists.
The Iona College Gaels open up their 2013-14 campaign at home hosting the Iona Tip-Off Tournament on Friday Nov. 8. The Gaels will appear in three games on the ESPN networks as part of the MAAC’s television package, including Feb. 6 at Rider, Feb. 27 in Hamden, Conn. against Quinnipiac, and March 2 at home in a rematch of last year’s championship game against Marist.