LOUDONVILLE, NY – It has been 273 days without sports competition on the campus at Siena, and on Friday night the Siena Saints Women's Basketball team will open up the 2020-21 season at home in the ARC as they take on the Fairfield Stags. Tip-off is slated for 7 PM, as the Saints will face the team that eliminated them from the MAAC Tournament last season, and face them twice on the hardwood over the weekend.
Due to current regulations, fans will not be allowed at the Alumni Recreation Center for the game. Fans can follow this weekend's games by clicking on the live stats link at the top of the page, or by tuning into Siena's ESPN3 broadcast featuring Chris Watson and Tehresa Coles. You can also listen to the games via Siena All Access radio broadcast, where
Joe Mixie and Steve Amedio will have the call for WVCR 88.3 The Saint. Click the corresponding links to follow along with the game coverage.
Continuous in-game press row updates will be provided via the women's basketball team's official twitter page @sienawomenshoop. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACHoops. Upload pictures of yourself and your friends enjoying the game remotely through the Selfiefinder platform by clicking the corresponding link at the top of the page, or by downloading the Selfiefinder app and searching "Siena." The best selfies from the game will be displayed in a tweet during the second half of the game on the @sienawomenshoop Twitter feed.
The Siena Saints are coming off an 11-20 season with an 8-12 mark in the MAAC. The Green and Gold return four of their five starters from last season, roughly 75 percent of their scoring from last season. Senior
Rayshel Brown and junior
Amari Anthony were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team. Junior
Tobulayefa Watts returns as the MAAC's top shot blocker, averaging 2.2 blocks per game and setting the second-most blocked shots in a single season in program history with 69. The Saints added transfer guard
Isis Young to the squad in the offseason, as her and senior
Marilena Gerostergiou will serve as team captains for the Green and Gold.
Fairfield (1-1) comes into the weekend with two games under their belt, as they sport the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year in Lou Lopez-Senechal. The Stags opened their season with a loss to UMass before topping Hofstra on Sunday to break even before their trip to Loudonville. Fairfield was picked to finish second in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, pulling in 108 total votes and four first place votes.
In the series history, Siena and Fairfield will be squaring off for the 78
th and 79
th time this weekend, with the Stags holding a 45-31 advantage all-time. Head Coach
Ali Jaques stands four wins away from passing Joe Hogan on Siena's all-time coaching wins list.
When the last time these two teams met, Anthony tied a Siena MAAC Tournament single-game record hitting five three pointers as the Green and Gold saw their season come to a close in a 72-56 loss to the Fairfield Stags. Anthony's five three pointers led her to a team-high 17 points on the day, as she added a pair of free throws to her resume. Classmate
Margo Peterson joined her in double-figures with 11 points as she scored three baskets from distance. Fairfield saw four players score in double-figures, led by Lopez-Senechal who collected a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Katie Armstrong scored 17 points.
