LOUDONVILLE, NY – Following its second 90-point output of the 2022-23 season, Siena Women's Basketball will head back out on the road in search of more gold in the score column. The Saints (13-7, 7-3) visit preseason MAAC favorite Quinnipiac (12-7, 7-3) on Saturday, January 28, 2023, with tip-off set for 2 PM at M&T Bank Arena.
Thursday's contest can be viewed live on ESPN3, with Steve Lenox, Billy Mecca, and Diane Nolan on the call and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saint or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 10:30 a.m., with Joe Mixie and longtime color commentator Steve Amedio on the call. Fans can also follow along with the corresponding live stats link, while continuous in-game press row updates will be provided via the women's basketball team's official twitter page @Siena_WBB. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACHoops.
The Saints struck gold in the scoring column on its Gold Rush night to the tune of a 94-62 home win over Rider on Thursday evening, securing its first stretch of three straight wins of 20 or more points over the Broncs since 2005-07. Siena eclipsed the 90-point mark, had a player in double-figure assists, and featured five players in double-figure scoring for the second time this season, with the team shooting a season-best 62 percent from the field in the first half. Siena's 94 points against Rider marked the first time since the 2001-02 campaign that the team recorded multiple 90-point games in a single season.
At 7-3 in conference play, the team has matched its best MAAC start since the 2015-16 season (8-2). After beginning 2023 with four of its first five contests at home, the Saints are currently in a stretch of three of five contests away from the UHY Center.
Three-time reigning MAAC Rookie of the Week Teresa Seppala became the first Siena player this season to record multiple 20-point contests on Thursday, leading five double-digit scorers with 22 points. Junior Ahniysha Jackson netted the team's first eight points of the game to finish with 15, while freshman London Gamble went for a career-high 13 points, classmate Elisa Mevius added 12, and sophomore Anajah Brown had 11. Gamble added a collegiate best 11 assists to her 13 points to record her first career double-double and become the first Siena player with a double-double in points and assists since Natalie Marchino on Jan. 9, 2004 (10 P, 11 A).
Siena has claimed eight of the 11 total MAAC Rookie of the Week honors handed out so far this season, with Seppala winning the award in each of the past three weeks. The team also did so in each of the first five weeks of the year. Mevius won Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 14, Nov. 28, and Dec. 5, while Seppala has earned honors on Nov. 21, Dec. 12., Jan. 9, Jan. 16, and Jan 23. Siena has now earned both eight MAAC weekly awards and MAAC Rookie of the Week honors in a single season since the 2014-15 season, when it captured 13 total weekly honors and then-freshman Margot Hetzke won MAAC Rookie of Week accolades nine times.
Siena has now started the year 9-3 in home contests for the first time since 2005-06, and has matched the program's best home start through 12 home games since the 2001-02 season (10-2). The Saints are taking the court at home this month for six scheduled home games in the month of January, marking the first time since January 2011 that the team will host six home games in a single month.
Siena currently leads the MAAC in scoring offense (67.6), rebounding (42.2), defensive rebounds per-game (28.5), rebound margin (+5.8), and three-point percentage defense (27.7), while ranking second in field goal percentage (41.2), field goal percentage defense (36.2), scoring margin (+6.0), and steals per-game (9.4). Individually, Brown leads the league in total rebounds (153) and is second in rebounds per-game (7.6), while Mevius is third in total assists (88) and assists per-game (4.4). Jackson is third in the MAAC in three-point attempts (130) and makes (42).
The Saints and the Bobcats will face off for the 20th time since beginning play against each other in 2014 when Quinnipiac joined the league. QU holds a 17-2 all-time advantage, and took both meetings during the 2021-22 season, including a 68-51 decision on January 8 and a 70-49 win in Hamden. Both of Siena's wins over the Bobcats in program history have home at the building currently known as M&T Bank Arena, with Siena taking home a 68-60 victory on Feb. 8, 2020 and a 63-60 triumph on Feb. 21, 2021. These wins have made up two of the last four matchups in Southern Connecticut between the pair.
Quinnipiac has bounced back from a slow start to MAAC play by winning each of its last three games, including triumphs against Saint Peter's, at Marist, and most recently at Manhattan to the tune of a 52-38 win on Thursday. The Bobcats averaged nearly 61 points per-game while holding the ninth-best field goal percentage defense in the nation in limiting opponents to 34.4 percent from the field. Cur'Tiera Haywood (12.1) and Mikala Morris (10.6) both average in double-figure scoring, while point guard Rose Caverly leads the MAAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.63).
