LOUDONVILLE, NY – With a capacity crowd of 2,148 people in the stands, the Siena Saints picked a great time for their second win of the season as they defeated the UAlbany Great Danes in the Crosstown Showdown présentes by Stuyvesant Plaza by a final score of 52-46. Siena would end the game on a 9-0 run, and outscore the Great Danes 17-6 in the final frame.
 
The game would feature the seventh largest crowd for a Siena Women's Basketball game at the ARC overall, and the largest crowd since 2,368 fans cheered on the Saints when they hosted Fairfield for a Kid's Day game on Jan. 10, 2013. The capacity crowd of 2,148 also marked the facility's first official sellout since the seating reconfiguration.
 
Siena was led by an 18 point day from senior Sabrina Piper, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. Junior Rayshel Brown scored 15 points for the second straight game, adding a trio of rebounds and steals. Junior Marilena Gerostergiou had a career game on the boards, snagging 15 rebounds, five coming on the offensive glass in the win. As a team, the Green and Gold forced 22 turnovers, converting that into 21 points off of those turnovers.
 
UAlbany received a 14 point, nine rebound day from Alexi Schecter as she fell one rebound shy of a double-double. Kyara Frames scored 11 points for the Great Danes as the only other player in double-figures.
 
Both sides fought a defensive battle in the first half, as the score stood 19-18 in favor of the Great Danes after the first half. Neither team grabbed a lead larger than three in the first half, as the second quarter ended on a last second jumper off an offensive rebound from Brown.
 
The Great Danes came out with some fire power in the second half, starting out with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to nine points just three minutes in. UAlbany continued to hang onto that lead, even extending it out to 10 points with 2:57 to play in the third quarter after a made layup by Schecter. However by the end of the third quarter, Siena had snuck back within five thanks to a last second three pointer from freshman Ashley Williamson to keep the Great Danes within striking distance.

The Saints quickly cut the lead to one in the first 30 seconds as Piper scored and Brown knocked down a pair of free throws. The Saints would finally take a lead with 6:30 to play as Brown cut loose on the fast break and made a layup, putting the Saints ahead 43-42. However, the Great Danes reclaimed the lead, going up three with 4:21 to play thanks to a pair of free throws from Frames.
 
Those free throws would be the last scoring by the Great Danes, as the Saints would hold them scoreless the rest of the way. A jumper in the paint from Piper would give Siena the 47-46 lead with 1:32 to play. UAlbany would miss three opportunities to take a lead with a pair of missed shots and a turnover with 18 seconds to play. Piper would knock down free throws down the stretch to solidify the win for the Green and Gold.
 
In the fourth quarter, Siena held UAlbany to just 18.2 percent shooting from the field, and were able to top the Great Danes in points in the paint, second chance points, fast break points, and bench points.
 
The Saints return to the floor in just over a week on Sunday, Dec. 15 when they head east to take on the UMass Minutewomen. Tip-off for the Sunday showdown is set for 2 p.m.