MOUNT ST. MARY'S (10-10, 8-3 MAAC) vs. IONA (8-13, 6-5 MAAC)
Saturday, February 1 | 2 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
ESPN+: WATCH (David Resnick, Edona Thaqi)
INTERNATIONAL STREAM |
GAME NOTES |
LIVE STATS
EMMITSBURG, Md. (February 5, 2025) – Looking to maintain hold of third place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and remain within striking distance of second, Mount St. Mary's women's basketball hits the road to challenge Iona.
MOUNT UPDATES & NOTES
- Mount St. Mary's is on a seven-game win streak, earning the longest string of consecutive victories since 2021, when that team won nine in a row from January 29-March 1 of that year.
- Last Saturday the team defeated Saint Peter's at home, 79-59. Jo Raflo collected her third career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Anna LeMaster tallied another five three-pointers to finish with 19 points, followed by Gabrielle Kennerly with 16.
- LeMaster is now eighth among all active Division I players in three-pointers per game, averaging 3.1. At 61 triples, she stands 23 away from the school's single season mark set by Michaela Harrison in 2018-19. The graduate student is also 17th nationwide for three-point percentage, and 30th for foul shooting.
- Raflo hit four three-pointers of her own on Saturday, putting her at 138 for her career, one behind 10th on the all-time Mountaineer list. Daly Sullivan hit 139 during her tenure in Emmitsburg. The record is 330, also set by Harrison.
- As a team, the Mount is 18th in the country for three-point percentage, making shots from beyond-the-arc at a rate of 36.5 percent. That leads the MAAC and is a full percentage point ahead of Quinnipiac in second.
- For the conference standings, the Mount holds third place all by themselves following Saturday's action. Quinnipiac defeated Siena to keep second place but assisted the Mountaineers by putting the Saints one game back of them in fourth place.
SCOUTING IONA
- The Gaels have battled to a 6-5 record in MAAC play, bursting out to a 3-1 start before going 2-4 in their most recent stretch.
- Coached by second-year head coach Angelika Szumilo, Iona features a collective-style offense with no player averaging double figures for the season. Ella Fajardo is the leader in points per game at 9.7.
- All five starters are capable of scoring with several options off the bench. Erin Leary is the most efficient at 42.9 percent, Judith Gomez tallies the most triples for a group with six players registering 10 or more for the year, and a few members of the team bettering 80 percent from the charity stripe.
- On defense, the Gaels are sixth in the league in surrendering points per game with an average of 62 per contest.
ALL-TIME SERIES
All five matchups between the Mountaineers and Gaels occurred within the purview of MAAC play. Iona has earned wins in four of those games, with Mount's lone victory coming on the Knott Arena floor last season. Raflo scored 18 points as the team edged the Gaels, 55-48.
LOOKING AHEAD
Next week, Mount St. Mary's hosts the Western New York schools at Knott Arena. Niagara comes first on Thursday, February 13 followed by Canisius on Saturday, February 15. The latter of the two games serves as the team's Senior Day.
