LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Women's Basketball redshirt-senior Joella Gibson went 9-11 from the field for a career-high 20 points to help the Saints shake off a two-game losing skid in a 67-61 victory over MAAC rival Niagara at the Alumni Recreation Center Saturday afternoon. The win served as the 100th career victory for Siena Head Coach Ali Jaques, who became the third Saints coach to do so in program history. 

The Saints (11-15, 7-8) began their final contest of a three-game home stand on an 11-3 run and barely looked back, leading for over 34 minutes of the contest. Aiding Gibson offensively was junior Maddie Sims, who came one board away from a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, collecting her 15th double-digit scoring performance of the season.

Niagara (12-14, 8-6) hung around throughout the game thanks to a 19-point performance form junior point guard Maggie McIntyre, who connected on five three-point shots to ensure that the Purple Eagles never trailed by more then eight. Junior Jai Moore, who earned Third Team Preseason All-MAAC honors heading into the year, was held to 11 points and three rebounds, despite her averages of 16.8 and 4, respectively.

After holding a two-point lead heading into the second quarter, the Saints pulled ahead for a 32-26 advantage at the half, with 20 of those points coming inside the paint. Despite Niagara outscoring Siena 18-15 in the third quarter, the Green and Gold shot 60 percent from the field in the final period to stay in the race for a top-5 seed in the MAAC during the 2018-19 regular season.

With the Purple Eagles holding a 52-51 lead with 7:28 remaining in the contest, redshirt-senior Aaliyah Jones connected on a pair of free throws that gave the home team back a lead that they would never relinquish and would prove to be part of an 80 percent (16-20) performance from the free throw line as a unit.

Up by just a point with under a minute to play, Gibson helped put the game away for the Saints inbounding the ball for a flawless right-side layup in the low post the put the team up three with 50 seconds left. Just as Siena was about to pull away with 24 seconds remaining and a five-point lead, McIntyre pulled up for a right wing three that would put the Purple Eagles down by only two. The Saints used free throws to put the game out of reach and pick up their second-straight win over Niagara.

Following the victory and a 1-2 mark in a three-game home stand, Siena departs for its final regular season road trip of the season next week. The Saints head to Buffalo to battle Canisius for the teams' only regular-season meeting this year before heading south to battle Rider in New Jersey. Action against the Golden Griffins tips off at 7 PM on Friday, Feb. 22.