The Lady Jaspers during the second half of the game.
KAREN FLORES/COURTESY
By Karen Flores, Staff Writer
Women’s basketball took a thrilling win against Iona, ending with a score of 66-56 with the team ramping it up during the second half.
The Gaels began the first quarter with an eight-point lead against the Lady Jaspers, later broken when Leyla Ozturk hit a jump shot. The Jaspers pushed their way up to a score of 14-16 at the end of the first quarter with another jump shot from Ozturk.
The score bounced back and forth in the second quarter with the Gaels and Lady Jaspers fighting for the lead.
The Lady Jaspers finally took the lead for the first time in the game when Ines Gimenez Monserrat brought the score to 22-21. The lead was short-lived as the Gaels crept up and took the lead back with a score of 27-26 at the end of the second quarter.
Heading into the second half, the Lady Jaspers did not let up as they were able to keep the lead to single digits for the majority of the third quarter.
The score was tied at 40-40 during the last minute and thirty seconds of the quarter, but the Lady Jaspers worked against the Gaels’ offense scoring four points within the time frame and ending with a score of 44-40.
The Lady Jaspers trampled the Gaels’ defensive tactics within the last quarter and triumphantly left the court with a ten-point lead.
The leaders of the game were Petra Juric, a junior forward with 20 points and six rebounds, as well as Jade Blagrove, a senior forward with six assists.
Juric praised her teammates in a post-game interview and said that communication has been a point of focus as they work towards improving.
“We’re happy with how our communication has grown as it has been a point of focus for us,” Juric said. “It was a tough game, we knew we had to fight for a win going into next week’s tournament and we wanted to start off feeling good and confident.”
Anne Bair, a sophomore guard, was happy with the team’s overall performance.
“I love being on this team because we share the ball and we try to get the best shot and not only a good shot but a great one,” Bair said. “I believe we did that in today’s game. We facilitated the ball well. There were lots of assists and that’s the way we want to play and I think it’s gonna give us a lot of confidence going into next week.”
Nitzan Amar, a junior guard, said that this game’s atmosphere gave her more confidence going into the tournament.
“The tournament is going to be tough but I believe in us and we believe in ourselves,” Amar said. “I like this atmosphere where you can hear the fans cheer you on so we are excited for the chance to show what we can do.”
Bair hopes that the Lady Jaspers can bring home the MAAC championship this year.
“We couldn’t be more excited and our coaches are saying we’re moving there for the week so we don’t plan on just playing one game and going home,” Bair said. “We want to make it to the championship. We made it there two times in a row. So the third time’s the charm and we want to and hope to bring it home this year.”
Editor’s Note: The article was written ahead of the MAAC Championships