LOUDONVILLE, NY – Off to a 2-0 start for the first time in nine years, Siena Women's Basketball will finally get to play for its home crowd on Sunday. The Saints (2-0) are set to open their 13-game home slate on Sunday, November 19 against Ivy League foe Penn (1-1) at the UHY Center in Loudonville, with tip-off set for 2:00 PM.  

Sunday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with Kelly O'Donnell and Brian Rubino on the call, and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saints or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 1:30 p.m., with the radio "Voice of the Saints" 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 X page @Siena_WBB. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACHoops.
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Siena Women's Basketball will celebrate the start of its 2023-24 home slate by offering postgame autographs from the team following the conclusion of the contest. The team is also proud to partner with the Siena College Nursing Association to hold a Food & Coat Drive to benefit St. Peter's Health Partners during Sunday's game. Fans are encouraged to bring at least three non-perishable food items and/or at least one gently-used winter coat, and will receive a ticket voucher good for a future 2023-24 Siena Women's Basketball home contest by doing so.

After leading by as many as 28 points to open the season last week at Binghamton, the Saints grabbed another road victory at Dartmouth on Sunday, grinding out a 56-49 victory in Hanover, New Hampshire. Despite shooting only 30 percent from the field, the team held the Big Green under 50 on the day and under 30 percent from the field. Sophomore Elisa Mevius tallied her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds ,while senior Ahniysha Jackson and junior Valencia Fontenelle-Posson both led the team with 12 points. Siena also recorded 11 three-pointers and tallied 13 of the day's 16 face break points.

The Saints now return to the UHY Center, where they are 17-12 over the past two seasons under Coach Jabir, and are 23-26 all-time in home openers. Siena cruised to a 78-58 win over New Hampshire to open the 2022-23 season on Nov. 10, 2022, and will look to claim victory in back-to-back home openers for the first time since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns.

Siena now aims to get to 3-0 for what would be the fifth time in program history, the first time since the 2014-15 season, and would match the program mark for its best start in history. The team now enters a stretch of three of its next four games inside the friendly confines of the UHY Center.

The Saints are expected to have sophomore Teresa Seppala for the first time this season after the Tempere, Finland native missed the first two games of the season while competing with the Finnish National Team at the FIBA EuroCup in Europe.

The Saints picked up 20 votes in the latest CollegeInsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major Poll to effectively rank 36^th, while Penn finished just ahead of them at 35^th with 23 votes.

The Saints and the Quakers meet for the first time in four seasons as part of Siena's second straight matchup with an Ivy League foe. Siena came fairly close to snagging a win in a 58-51 home loss on November 10, 2018, but fell in a lopsided affair in the last meeting. The Saints aim for their second win in the series, with a 73-65 triumph on December 29, 2001 at The Palestra standing as the lone Siena victory thus far. Head Coach Jim Jabir is 0-1 during his 36-year coaching career against the Quakers, with his only meeting coming during his first year at Dayton at the Ohio State Buckeye Classic on December 20, 2003.

Led by 15^th year head coach Mike McLaughlin and coming off a WNIT appearance last season, Penn opened the season with a definitive 74-51 home win over Marist on November 11 before dropping a Big 5 matchup to Saint Joseph's at The Palestra last Tuesday by a score of 77-49. Picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Quakers return two-time Second Team All-Ivy selection and 2023 All-Big 5 honoree Jordan Obi, and is currently led in both scoring and rebounding by junior Stina Almqvist with 18.5 points and 9.0 rebounds aver two contests.

Season tickets for the 2023-24 Siena Women's Basketball season starting at just $126 for all home games are on-sale now, and can be purchased online or by contacting the Siena Fan Relations Management Center by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu or by phone at (518) 487-2202 during traditional business hours. Individual game tickets for all 13 of Siena Women's Basketball's home contests during the 2023-24 season are also available – beginning at $10 for adults and $7 for children.