Iona 76, Canisius 58
How Iona Won: When the conference Player of the Year goes off for a career-high 36 . . .
Damika Martinez, just a sophomore, made 14 of 23 shots from the field, including 6 of 9 from three-point land, in dismantling an injury-depleted Canisius defense. Toss in 15 points and a game-high (by 11) 18 rebounds from Rookie of the Year Joy Adams and the rout is on.
It Was Over When . . . : Martinez went wild early in the second half, scoring eight of Iona's first 10 points.
Player of the Game: Did we mention Martinez also had seven rebounds, a block and a steal?
Best Supporting Role: Adams was Sherwin-Williams, Behr and Benjamin Moore rolled into one She owned the paint.
Best Player (Losing Effort): Junior forward Jamie Ruttle got off to a hot start and finished with 13 points and five rebounds.
Stat Check: Canisius managed just 13 points off 18 Iona turnovers.
Hurting: Canisius had its upset bid undermined by ankle injuries to Kayla Hoohuli and Tiahana Mills. They played a combined 15 minutes.
In the House: There might have been a couple hundred on hand for a 9:30 start on a snowy New England morning.
They Said It
Griffs coach Terry Zeh on the ankle sprain suffered by Kayla Hoohuli: "She said to me, 'I can go straight and forward, I can't go sideways, which is a problem defensively."
Zeh on trying to defend Martinez with Hoohuli: "She had it going and we didn't have any answers to try and stop her."
-- Bob DiCesare
tagged
College basketball | Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference | NCAA Tournament
