State of the Gaels Special Report: Women's Basketball

State of the Gaels Special Report: Women’s Basketball

This week, the state of the Gaels takes a break from Iona’s men’s basketball to bring readers the current state of its sister team, Iona Women’s basketball. The team is being led by sixth-year head coach Billi Chambers and currently are on a one game winning streak to have their overall record stand at 7-15, 6-7 in conference play. With seven games left in the 2019-2020 season the Gaels will try to extend their streak and potentially make a run for their second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title.

With just under 600 people in attendance, fans were excited to see the Iona Gaels host the Sienna Saints in the brand new Hynes Athletics Center as the womens’ look to extend their win streak to two. The Maroon and Gold made their defensive presence felt early as the team jumped to a quick12-0 lead leaving the Saints scoreless for nearly 7 minutes before allowing a Sienna an opportunity to score. The Iona Women’s team lead the entire game from start to finish in a 58-47 win with Senior guard Morgan Rachu leading all scorers in points with 18 followed by 14 from Monica Barefield. The win improves the team overall record to 8-15 and 7-7 in conference play.

In the postgame interview Coach Billi Chambers spoked briefly on how it was the right time for the team to “grow up” while also praising the team for its excellent defensive effort against the Saints, (the team did not allow a single three all game from an opponent for the first time this season) while also adding the tough matchup the Gaels have against Stella Johnson and the Ryder Broncs as the team currently place 2ndin league play.

However the biggest storyline outside the team’s defensive domination was the return of Senior Morgan Rachu. The Marathon native made her first home start since January 16 versus Niagara before missing some time due to injury, but it look like it did nothing to affect her play as the guard went 6-for-9 beyond the arch. Rachu shared similar sentiments to Chambers as it was the right time for the team to “grow up” while “just playing my game” when being asked about shooting 6-for-9 beyond the arch.

The team will travel to play the Ryder Broncs on Sunday February 23, before returning home to host the visiting Canisius on Thursday.