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Senior guard Ida Krogh led the Saints with 16 points and seven rebounds in what may have been her last game donning the Green and Gold

Women's Basketball

Quinnipiac Ends Women's Basketball's Tournament Run

March 8, 2015

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

ALBANY, N.Y. - Jasmine Martin and Samantha Guastella combined for 43 points to lead MAAC Regular Season Champion Quinnipiac to a 64-47 victory over fifth seeded Siena Women's Basketball in the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament at the Times Union Center. Siena falls to 19-12 overall and will now have to wait and see if its magical 2014-15 season will continue with a potential postseason tournament berth.

"It's been a storybook year for us in a lot of ways," said head coach Ali Jaques. "We've been successful in turning a program around."

Jaques' Saints have posted a 10-win improvement from last year which is tied for sixth best nationally after finishing just 9-22 a season ago. Predicted to finish 10th following a second-to-last finish last season, Siena achieved its first winning season in 11 years and most victories in a dozen seasons despite playing with just seven active players over the final 26 games.

"I've had four very unique years at Siena and this year was the best year I've had," commented senior captain Tehresa Coles. "The chemistry that we have shows in the way we play. That's been really amazing."

But despite overcoming the odds all year long, Quinnipiac (30-3) proved to be too big of a juggernaut for the Saints to conquer Sunday as the Bobcats reached the 30-victory mark for the second time in three seasons.

Quinnipiac outscored Siena 36-0 from behind the three-point line and led by double digits for the final 22:48 in winning their 20th in a row and advancing to the MAAC Championship Game for the program's second time in as many years since joining the conference. Quinnipiac, which is receiving votes this week in both the AP Top-25 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls, improves to 22-0 against conference competition this season outscoring their MAAC foes by an average of 21.7 points.

Senior guard Ida Krogh led the Saints with 16 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore captain Meghan Donohue added 14 points and eight rebounds for Siena which fell short of advancing to the MAAC Championship Game for the first time in 12 years in losing its sixth straight semifinal contest.

The Saints took their first and only lead of the game 8-7 at the first media timeout, following an 8-2 run. But the Bobcats, which entered play ranked fifth nationally in threes per game, answered with three straight trifectas to quickly go up by 10 and reclaim the lead for good.

Quinnipiac shot 12-32 from distance, while Siena missed all 13 of its three-point attempts. It marked the first time in 118 games that the Saints failed to make a three, dating back to Nov. 25, 2011 at North Carolina A&T.

Nonetheless Siena, whose staple all year long has been to attack inside, rallied thanks to a 30-16 edge in points in the paint. Krogh made consecutive baskets in the lane to pull the Saints as close as six, 30-24 with 4:20 left before the half. But Coles, the MAAC's Defensive Player of the Year, was forced to sit for the final 7:37 and the Bobcats took advantage scoring the final 12 points of the half to take a commanding 42-24 lead at the break.

Siena, which has been remarkably resilient in a number of ways all season long, would make one final push out of the lockerroom. The Saints scored the first eight points of the second half to rally within 10, but Quinnipiac responded with the next eight points to reclaim an 18-point cushion and ultimately snap Siena's longest winning streak in four years at five straight.

The Bobcats limited Siena to just 27.9% shooting overall and held the Saints' other five players outside of Krogh and Donohue to a combined 5-38 (13.2%) from the floor. Siena's top-two scorers, Coles and MAAC Rookie of the Year Margot Hetzke, combined to miss their first 15 shots and were held scoreless for the first 32:14.

Coles finished with six points and became the eighth player in the MAAC's 33-year history to eclipse 300 career steals, while also later being named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team. Hetzke scored just two points on 0-9 shooting, although she did post her season-high tying fourth 11-rebound game.

Despite being held to their second lowest scoring output of the season, Siena's defense gave them a chance. The Saints limited the Bobcats' potent offense to just 36.5% shooting and held the nation's 10th best scoring offense to 15 points under their season average.

Martin led all scorers with 23 points for Quinnipiac, while Guastella added 20 on 6-12 shooting from three for the Bobcats which won their 13th road game, which is tied for the most nationally.

Val Driscoll didn't score, but made her presence felt on the defense end with 10 rebounds and five of Quinnipiac's seven blocks. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Saints 44-42, marking the just the second time in the last 33 games that Siena has failed to grab more rebounds than its opponent.

Now, Siena will have to wait and see if they'll be able to add one final chapter to their remarkable season. The Saints are on the radar for a potential postseason berth, most likely in the Women's Basketball Invitational whose bracket will be revealed once the NCAA Tournament field is announced in eight days.

"We've had a very successful season and I'm hopeful it's not done," lobbied Jaques. "I think our RPI and record speaks for itself."

"I'm always down to play more basketball," Coles added. "If we get in (to the WBI), that would be a great opportunity for us."

Over or not, the improbable 2014-15 Siena Women's Basketball season won't soon be forgotten and has served as the starting point in the rebirth of the program.

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Players Mentioned

Margot Hetzke

#11 Margot Hetzke

Forward
5' 11"
Freshman
Meghan Donohue

#45 Meghan Donohue

Forward
6' 2"
Freshman
Ida Krogh

#2 Ida Krogh

Guard/Forward
6' 0"
Sophomore
Tehresa Coles

#25 Tehresa Coles

Guard
5' 9"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Margot Hetzke

#11 Margot Hetzke

5' 11"
Freshman
Forward
Meghan Donohue

#45 Meghan Donohue

6' 2"
Freshman
Forward
Ida Krogh

#2 Ida Krogh

6' 0"
Sophomore
Guard/Forward
Tehresa Coles

#25 Tehresa Coles

5' 9"
Sophomore
Guard