EMMITSBURG, Md. (March 8, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball slugged it out with the Iona Gaels Wednesday, attempting dethrone the top seed in the tournament. It went down to the final minute, but a bucket from Iona's Juana Camilion sealed a 39-37 win, concluding the Mount's season.
 
The Mount ended their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the tournament quarterfinals, finishing with a record of 12-19.
 
In her final collegiate game, Natalie Villaflor scored 13 for a team high. Isabella Hunt ended her junior season with a career best four blocks, adding 12 rebounds and eight points. Michaela Harrison completed her stellar career as a Mountaineer on 1,776 points, passing Megan Gardiner for third on the all-time list. Aryna Taylor closes a gritty career with 884 points and 169 triples.
 
As a team, the Mount limited Iona to 29.1 percent from the floor, forced 20 turnovers and set a season high with nine blocks. The rejections were the most against a Division I opponent since 2013, when that team had nine against Monmouth in the 2013 Northeast Conference tournament.
 
Strong defense at the start kept the scoring low and the game tight. The Mount forced two shot clock violations and five total turnovers on the Gaels in the first five minutes. Iona responded in kind with a pair of steals. Villaflor provided the offense with four points and Jessica Tomasetti connected on a late three for a brief lead. Iona answered back on a pull up from Kate Mager to lead 10-9 after one.
 
Carissa Dunham gave the Mount its first lead on a fast break steal and score. Defense continued to set the tone, as the Mount forced 11 turnovers and eight steals by the second quarter media. Key buckets by Hunt and Jaedyn Jamison built the lead as four. Iona got the last bucket again, but this time, the Mountaineers were up 18-16 at the halftime horn.
 
Iona began to make a push in the third, with Mager finding space beyond the arc to sink triples. Her third of the frame put the Gaels ahead 27-24 at the 5:54 mark. Field goals by Tomasetti and Hunt exchanged the lead back to the Mount before Athias hit a late layup to bring the lead back to the Gaels by a single point entering the fourth.
 
The Gaels pushed their advantage up to six with 7:41 left. But the Mount put up another defensive wall, disallowing any more points for four minutes. In that span, Taylor connected on a pull-up, and Villaflor hit a key trey to get within one. Foul shots by the graduate student garnered a lead change at the 1:58 mark.
 
Iona had four chances to pull ahead but clutch defensive stops and two turnovers allowed the Mount to temporarily hold on. At 38 seconds, Camilion turned the ball over, Tomasetti got a steal and took a foul. But both shots at the charity stripe came up empty, breathing life back into the Gaels. Camilion did not waste this opportunity, connecting on a driving layup. Mount came up short a second time and had to foul, with the Gaels hitting one at the line. With under seconds three to go, the Mount created a look for Harrison, but the ball was still in her hands at the horn.
 
Updates for the 2023-24 season will be made available in the coming months.