PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's basketball dropped an 81-75 contest to Iona on Thursday afternoon at Hagan Arena.

In a back-and-forth contest, the Hawks (4-5) held a 62-58 advantage with five minutes to go, but slowly saw it slip away. Behind an 8-0 run, Iona (5-6) opened a 66-62 edge on a free throw by Marina Lizarazu with 2:28 to play. 

Saint Joseph's answered back with a three-pointer by junior Kathleen Fitzpatrick to make it a one-point game, but Lizarazu pushed the Gaels' lead to 68-65 with a layup as the shot clock was running out with 1:42 left.

The Hawks turned the ball over in their next two possessions as Iona converted four straight free throws to push its lead to the biggest of the game, 72-65, with 40 seconds to go.

Saint Joseph's would get no closer than four from there as the Gaels knocked down 9-of-10 from the foul line to finish the game.

As a team, the Hawks shot a season-best 48.9 percent from the field (22-of-45), but turned the ball over season-high 20 times. Individually, senior Sarah Fairbanks had a team-high 19 points and added seven rebounds, while junior Amanda Fioravanti went 8-of-8 from the floor and finished with a career-best 18 points to go with five rebounds. Fitzpatrick was the third Hawk in double figures with 12 points, while sophomore Chelsea Woods had a gmae-high 10 rebounds to go with five points and three assists.

For Iona, Lizarazu had a game-high 25 points, while Joy Adams added 23 and nine rebounds as the Gaels shot 47.5 percent from the floor (29-of-61) and tallied 27 of their points off SJU turnovers.

Saint Joseph's returns to action on Monday as it hosts #3 Notre Dame at 7 p.m.

Game Notes: Thursday's contest was part of the Hawks' annual Fieldtrip to the Fieldhouse event for area school children...Attendance for Thursday was 1,667, marking the fourth time SJU has had over 1,000 fans this season.