NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Iona College women's basketball team earned its second consecutive trip, and fifth overall, to the Women's NIT. The Gaels will host Harvard of the Ivy League Thursday at the Hynes Center in the First Round, it was announced late Monday evening.
Under the direction of 2014 MAAC Coach of the Year Billi Godsey, Iona (26-5, 18-2 MAAC) shared the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship and held the the No. 1 seed in the championship tournament last weekend. The Maroon & Gold earned an automatic bid to the tournament as a regular season champion that did not advance to the NCAA Tournament and are joined by Quinnipiac as the MAAC representation in the field of 64.
The Gaels are led by All-MAAC First Team members Damika Martinez and Joy Adams. Martinez, a junior guard, earned her second straight MAAC Player of the Year award in 2014 and is eighth nationally in scoring with an average of 24.7 points per game. Adams, a sophomore forward, averages 17.1 points per game and is the nation's third leading rebounder, averaging 14.1 boards per outing. Her 26 double-doubles this season are the second most in the country.
Junior guard Aleesha Powell was an All-MAAC Second Team selection and sophomore guard Aaliyah Robinson was the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year. Powell is averaging 11.4 points per game, while Robinson is second on the squad with 52 three-point field goals.
Harvard finished the regular season with a mark of 21-7 as the Crimson earned a berth in the Women's NIT for the third consecutive season. Harvard finished one game behind Ivy League champion Penn in the conference standings.
Leading the Crimson is senior guard Christine Clark. Clark, an All-Ivy League First Team selection, averaged 16.8 points per game during the regular season. Junior forward Temi Fagbenle, another All-Ivy League First Team member, averages 12.9 points and a team best 9.4 rebounds per game.
Iona is 1-0 all-time against the Crimson, picking up a 61-51 victory over Harvard in the only previous matchup during the 1984-85 season. A season ago, the Gaels fell to eventual tournament champion Drexel in the first round by the score of 59-50. All-time, the Gaels hold a 2-4 record in the tournament, but are 1-0 at home. The Gaels defeated Long Island University 91-79 in the first round of the 2007 tournament at the Hynes Center.