LOUDONVILLE, NY – After being down 16 points in the third quarter, the Siena Saints women's basketball team would fight their way back within four points against the three-time defending MAAC Champion Quinnipiac Bobcats. However, the Saints could not get over the hump, as the Bobcats pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 66-52 victory at the ARC on Saturday afternoon.
 
Siena was led by a 16-point showing from junior Rayshel Brown, which set a season-high as she went 7-for-16 from the field. Senior Sabrina Piper would score 11 points with five rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Freshman Ashley Williamson contributed with nine points off the bench, leading the Green and Gold bench effort which put up 25 bench points. As a team, Siena forced 21 Quinnipiac turnovers.
 
Quinnipiac was led by a 16 point, 13 rebound double-double effort from Paige Warfel, as she also went 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Cur'Tiera Haywood scored 13 with seven rebounds, and Taylor Herd added 12 points including a pair of three-pointers. The Bobcats would knock down 21 of 25 attempts from the free throw line compared to Siena's 4-for-11 effort from the charity stripe.
 
The Saints came out firing right off the bat, scoring the first seven points of the game punctuated by a three-pointer from Piper. By then end of the first frame, Siena had a 14-8 lead. The Green and Gold would fall cold in the second part of the second quarter, as Quinnipiac ended the half on an 11-0 run, including a 9-0 run in the final minute of the half as the Bobcats took a 29-24 lead.
 
The offense for the Bobcats didn't stop after the halfway point, as they were able to open up a lead of as much as 16, which came on a three-pointer from Haywood with 5:08 to play in the third quarter. Piper would knock down a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 14 by the media timeout with 4:44 to play. That would be the start to a Siena run that saw the Saints charge back within four points over the next four minutes.
 
Three-pointers by sophomore Margo Peterson and Williamson would be key points in the run, while a jumper from freshman Julia Hauer in the paint with 40 seconds to play in the third quarter capped the 14-2 run by the Green and Gold. However, the Bobcats would make a play in the final moments of the quarter, as Herd connected from long distance to take a four-point Siena deficit to a seven point hole going into the fourth.
 
In the fourth, the Saints struggled to score from the get go, as the Quinnipiac lead rose back to double-digits by the 4:23 mark in the fourth. The Green and Gold wouldn't get any closer as the Bobcats shut the door and held on for the win.
 
The Bobcats out rebounded the Saints 42-25, including a 10-6 battle on the offensive glass leading to Quinnipiac scoring 12 second chance points to Siena's none.
 
The Saints return to the floor on Monday, Jan. 6 as they travel to Saint Peter's for their first MAAC road game of the season. Opening tip-off between the teams will kick things off at 7 p.m.