# 2015–16 Iona Gaels women's basketball team

The 2015–16 Iona Gaels women's basketball team represented Iona College during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Iona Gaels were coached by second year head coach, Billi Godsey. They played their home games in New Rochelle, New York, at the Hynes Athletic Center, and were members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). They finished the season 23–12, 16–4 in MAAC play to finish in second place. They were champions of the MAAC women's tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament, where they lost in the first round to Maryland.

## NCAA Invitation

Iona has reached the conference championship game three times in the last decade. Each time, Marist prevailed, thwarting the Gales bid to in a conference championship and an invitation to the NCAA tournament. This year, Iona didn’t face Marist, but faced Quinnipiac, a team who had defeated them twice in the regular-season. The third time, the result would be different — Iona opened up a 10-point lead at halftime and extended it in the second half to win 57–41 to earn their first ever invitation to the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 pm | | at Stony Brook | L 53–58 | 0–1 | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (1,233) Stony Brook, NY |
| 11/17/2015* 7:00 pm | | VCU | L 58–74 | 0–2 | Hynes Athletic Center (350) New Rochelle, NY |
| 11/20/2015* 8:30 pm | | vs. Yale Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge | L 48–63 | 0–3 | Carmichael Arena (1,676) Chapel Hill, NC |
| 11/21/2015* 3:00 pm | | at North Carolina Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge | L 52–64 | 0–4 | Carmichael Arena (1,793) Chapel Hill, NC |
| 11/22/2015* 1:00 pm | | vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge | W 77–53 | 1–4 | Carmichael Arena (1,142) Chapel Hill, NC |
| 11/29/2015* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. USC Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge | L 56–76 | 1–5 | Mohegan Sun Arena (452) Uncasville, CT |
| 12/02/2015 7:00 pm | | at Fairfield | W 56–46 | 2–5 (1–0) | Alumni Hall (213) Fairfield, CT |
| 12/04/2015 7:00 pm | | Rider | W 59–46 | 3–5 (2–0) | Hynes Athletic Center (375) New Rochelle, NY |
| 12/09/2015* 7:00 pm | | at Rutgers | L 33–58 | 3–6 | Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,599) Piscataway, NJ |
| 12/13/2015* 2:00 pm | | North Texas | W 62–51 | 4–6 | Hynes Athletic Center (503) New Rochelle, NY |
| 12/17/2015* 11:30 am | | at Saint Joseph's | W 81–75 | 5–6 | Hagan Arena (1,667) Philadelphia, PA |
| 12/20/2015* 12:00 pm | | at George Washington | L 65–70 | 5–7 | Charles E. Smith Center (877) Washington, D.C. |
| 12/29/2015* 2:00 pm | | East Tennessee State | W 56–50 | 6–7 | Hynes Athletic Center (328) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/02/2016 2:00 pm | | Manhattan | W 67–56 | 7–7 (3–0) | Hynes Athletic Center (350) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/04/2016 7:00 pm | | at Saint Peter's | W 65–51 | 8–7 (4–0) | Yanitelli Center (350) Jersey City, NJ |
| 01/07/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Marist | W 69–49 | 9–7 (5–0) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,476) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/10/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Canisius | W 79–56 | 10–7 (6–0) | Hynes Athletic Center (752) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/15/2016 7:00 pm | | at Marist | L 61–62 | 10–8 (6–1) | McCann Field House (1,685) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| 01/18/2016 2:00 pm | | at Manhattan | L 56–63 | 10–9 (6–2) | Draddy Gymnasium (197) Riverdale, NY |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm | | Niagara | W 73–46 | 11–9 (7–2) | Hynes Athletic Center (676) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/24/2016 5:00 pm | | at Monmouth | W 64–49 | 12–9 (8–2) | Multipurpose Activity Center (101) West Long Branch, NJ |
| 01/30/2016 3:00 pm | | at Niagara | W 73–52 | 13–9 (9-2) | Gallagher Center (310) Lewiston, NY |
| 02/01/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Canisius | W 79–76 | 14–9 (10–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (626) Buffalo, NY |
| 02/05/2016 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | Monmouth | W 68–56 | 15–9 (11–2) | Hynes Athletic Center (901) New Rochelle, NY |
| 02/07/2016 1:00 pm | | at Rider | W 67–48 | 16–9 (12–2) | Alumni Gymnasium (823) Lawrenceville, NJ |
| 02/10/2016 7:00 pm | | at Siena | W 64–51 | 17–9 (13–2) | Alumni Recreation Center (465) Loudonville, NY |
| 02/12/2016 7:00 pm, SNY | | at Quinnipiac | L 61–62 | 17–10 (13–3) | TD Bank Sports Center (886) Hamden, CT |
| 02/19/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Siena | W 63–51 | 18–10 (14–3) | Hynes Athletic Center (240) New Rochelle, NY |
| 02/21/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Saint Peter's | W 64–50 | 19–10 (15–3) | Hynes Athletic Center (905) New Rochelle, NY |
| 02/24/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fairfield | W 69–53 | 20–10 (16–3) | Hynes Athletic Center (786) New Rochelle, NY |
| 02/28/2016 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Quinnipiac | L 53–69 | 20–11 (16–4) | Hynes Athletic Center (982) New Rochelle, NY |
| MAAC Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/05/2016 2:30 pm | | vs. Siena Quarterfinals | W 64–47 | 21–11 | Times Union Center (633) Albany, NY |
| 03/06/2016 1:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Marist Semifinals | W 57–53 | 22–11 | Times Union Center Albany, NY |
| 03/07/2016 2:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Quinnipiac Championship Game | W 57–41 | 23–11 | Times Union Center (1,534) Albany, NY |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/19/2016* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | (15 L) | at (2 L) No. 5 Maryland First Round | L 58–74 | 23–12 | Xfinity Center (5,374) College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||