A low-scoring MAAC affair ended in a loss for the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team, as the Bobcats fell to the Iona Gaels 47-42 Saturday.

The Bobcats were stagnant early, with freshman forward Ella O’Donnell, senior forward Mikala Morris and graduate student guard Rose Caverly going a combined 0-5 from the field.

However, Quinnipiac rallied in the first quarter. Morris converted on a spin-o-rama and knocked down a free throw for the three-point play. Morris was also honored pre-game for reaching 1,000 career points as a Bobcat, which she achieved on Dec. 31, against Mount St. Mary’s.

The Bobcats struggled at the line throughout. To start, graduate student forward Mary Baskerville and junior guard Makenzie Helms left the charity stripe empty-handed, and the team went 1-5 at the line in the first quarter.

At the end of the opening frame, the Gaels led 14-13.

In the second quarter, Iona stifled Quinnipiac’s offense, limiting it to five points throughout. To adjust, the Bobcats started operating with a 1-3-1 defense. But Iona senior guard Kate Mager and sophomore guard Judith Gomez found holes beyond the arc and notched three threes in the half.

At the end of the first half, the Gaels had a commanding 27-18 lead over the host Bobcats. Quinnipiac also overwhelmingly led in turnovers, with seven to Iona’s three at the end of the half.

In the third, Gomez continued to make it rain for Iona, sinking her third trey of the day.

With 6:23 left in the third quarter Iona led the Bobcats by 12, due largely to its defending in the paint. Senior guard Juana Camilion maintained a steady presence in the post, where she tallied seven defensive rebounds, two steals and a block.

The tide changed for Quinnipiac when sophomore guard Jackie Grisdale banked in a three and senior forward Cur’Tiera Haywood drained two free throws at the end of the third, bringing the Bobcats to within ten.

With a Haywood and-one, the lead was cut to six and Quinnipiac seemed to have a resurgence in the final quarter of the game. Caverly then buried a three, cutting the Iona lead to just three.

It was now a ballgame.

Down six, Haywood made another three to bring the lead back to three – 41-38 Gaels with 46.7 seconds left. Momentum was on Quinnipiac’s side, but with just over 30 seconds remaining, Haywood had a wide-open look for a game-tying three, but the ball didn’t find the net.

Iona called a timeout, then Camilion drained two free throws to put the Gaels back up five. Two Grisdale free throws put the game back to a three-point margin.

In the end, the Bobcat rally didn’t pay off. Iona sophomore guard Thoranna Hodge-Carr buried both her free throws and put the dagger in the Quinnipiac comeback, ending the game at 47-42.

Quinnipiac stays at home for its next game as it faces the St. Peter’s Peacocks on Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.