Top Ranked Iona Women's Basketball will be featured on two ESPN3 Broadcasts this Week
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – The top ranked Iona College Gaels women’s basketball team will be featured on two ESPN3 televisions broadcast in the final week of the regular season. On Thursday, the Gaels will travel to the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Connecticut to face the Quinnipiac University Bobcats at 6:00 pm. Then on Sunday to close out the regular season, the Gaels will host the second ranked Marist College Red Foxes at 12:00 pm. The two broadcasts will be featured live on ESPN3 as part of the MAAC ESPN broadcast package.
The Iona College women’s basketball team under first-year head coach Billi Godsey is currently the top ranked team in the league with a 17-1 MAAC record and 24-3 overall mark. The Gaels will look to wrap up the week and regular season with the school’s first MAAC regular season title and overall top seed in the upcoming 2014 MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship. Iona currently leads the league in scoring offense, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, and blocked shots. MAAC Player of the Year candidate and Nancy Lieberman Award finalist Damika Martinez currently ranks sixth nationally in scoring, averaging 24.9 points per game. Her 46 point outing against Rider on Feb. 16 is the eighth highest scoring output in the country this season among Division I women’s basketball players. She also ranks third nationally in three-point field goals per game and leads the MAAC in free throw percentage. Another MAAC Player of the Year candidate, sophomore forward Joy Adams, is currently tied for second nationally with 23 double-doubles this season and ranks third nationally in rebounds per game at 14. Senior guard Haley D’Angelo averages 4.3 assists per game and holds a 2.6 assists to turnover ratio, both good for fourth in the league. Senior center Sabrina Jeridore leads the league in blocked shots per game, averaging 2.8 blocks per contest. On the season, Martinez has been named MAAC Player of the Week five times and Corvias ECAC Player of the Week twice, while Adams has earned MAAC Player of the Week honors three times and Corvias ECAC Player of the Week twice.
In the first year as a member of the MAAC, Quinnipiac University sits in fourth place with a league mark of 13-5, an 18-10 overall mark and are bidding for their fifth 20 win-season under head coach Tricia Fabbri. The Bobcats are currently on a three game winning streak and will receive an opening round bye in the upcoming 2014 MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship. Quinnipiac sits at the top of the league in rebounding offense, assists, turnover margin, and assists to turnover ratio. They are also the second ranked scoring team in the league behind Iona. Senior guard Jasmine Martin leads the team and ranks fifth in the MAAC in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game. Senior forward Brittany McQuain ranks second in the league in offensive rebounds and fourth in total rebounding. She also is tied for fifth in the conference in steals per game, averaging 1.7 per contest. Junior guard Gillian Abshire ranks fifth nationally in assist per game and leads the league in assists to turnover ratio. Junior forward Samantha Guastella has registered 2.2 blocks per MAAC contest, which leads the league. McQuain was named MAAC Player of the Week on Dec. 02, while freshman Adily Martucci was named MAAC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 20 this season.
Iona won the first meeting against Quinnipiac 95-86 on Jan. 10. Adams led the Gaels with a career high 29 and grabbed 19 rebounds in the contest for her 12th double-double of the season. Martinez added 21 and Aleesha Powell scored 20 points in the game for the Gaels. Nikoline Ostergaard scored a career high 26 points for the Bobcats while McQuain registered her fifth double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Marist College is currently second in the league standings at 16-2 in conference games and 22-6 overall. The Red Foxes will be looking to secure their 11th consecutive regular season league title when they meet up with the Gaels on Sunday afternoon. Marist leads the conference in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal defense, and defensive rebounding percentage. Senior captain Emma O’Connor leads the league in field goal percentage, ranks sixth in rebounding, and ranks eighth in the league in scoring. Junior Madeline Blais ranks second on the Red Foxes in scoring and second in the league behind O’Connor in field goal percentage. She also ranks second in the MAAC in free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Senior Leanne Ockenden is tied for fifth in conference games with 1.7 steals per game. O’Connor has garnered MAAC Player of the Week honors twice this season and has once been named Corvias ECAC Player of the Week. Sophomore Sydney Coffey was honored as MAAC Player of the Week on Dec. 23.
In the first match up between Iona and Marist, the Gaels won 73-71 on a mid range go ahead jumper by Martinez with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Gaels sole possession of first place. The game marked the Red Foxes' first home loss in MAAC play since 2009, and snapped a streak of 36 consecutive conference victories overall. Martinez and Adams both posted game high 18 points for Iona. Coffey posted a team high 17 points for Marist.