LOUDONVILLE, NY – Intertwined into a non-conference season that usually coincides with the holidays and the end of the fall semester, one game always sticks out on the schedule for Siena Women's Basketball. The Saints (2-2) will look to get back in the win column when they head across town for the Albany Cup against Capital Region rival UAlbany (4-2) on Saturday, December 2, with tip-off set for 5 pm at the newly-renovated Broadview Center in Albany, New York.    

Tuesday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with Rich Becker and Brian Mariano on the call, and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saints or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 4:30 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.

Siena hits the road for its only game away from home during a 22-day period for a crosstown battle, with just approximately nine miles separating the two programs making the rivalry once of the closets among NCAA Division I schools.

After starting 2-0 for the first time in nine seasons, the Saints narrowly dropped its first two home contests of the season, most recently falling in a 67-64 overtime decision against Merrimack last Tuesday. The free period represented Siena's first home overtime game against a non-league foe since 2010.

Despite putting four players in double figure scoring for the second straight game, the Saints shot only 31.1 % from the field and 27.8 % from three, while being outrebounded, 48-41. Sophomore London Gamble posted a career-best 16 points, while classmate Elisa Mevius added 14, juniors Anajah Brown and Valencia Fontenelle-Posson went for ten each, and sophomore Teresa Seppala added nine rebounds.

Several Saints stand out amongst the top stat generators in both the MAAC and the nation, with Brown leading the league in blocks per-game (2-0) and Mevius steadying the MAAC in minutes per-game (38.2), total steals (20), and steals per-game (5.0). Mevius is second nationally in swipes per-contest while ranking fourth in minutes per-game and 29^th in total steals. Brown ranks 28^th nationally in blocks per-contest.
All four of the Saints' contests thus far this season and six straight dating back to last year have been decided by single digits, with Siena going 3-3 in those games. Siena is 1-0 thus far this season against both teams from New York and the America East, with a 73-64 season-opening victory at Binghamton on November 9 checking both boxes.

Saturday's matchup will pit local Siena products Fontenelle-Posson (Guilderland HS) and senior Ahniysha Jackson (Albany HS) against UAlbany junior Meghan Huerter (Shenendehowa HS), junior Lilly Phillips (Cambridge Central School), and junior Abby Ray (Saratoga Springs HS).

The Saints and the Great Danes meet for the 19th time in the Albany Cup era and the fourth time in the last five seasons, with the Saints' 2019 victory at the ARC standing as the only Green and Gold series nod since 2009. UAlbany leads the all-time series, 13-11, and holds an 11-7 advantage in Albany Cup matchups since 2001. UAlbany has taken ten of the last 11 matchups, including both games thus far played on its campus, and most recently, a 64-57 victory at the UHY Center last season. Two of the last three meetings have been decided by seven points or less.

The matchup once again pits Siena against its longtime former coach, with former Saints head Gina Castelli (1990-2012) serving as UAlbany's Executive Coach for Program Development and Player Relations. Catelli served as an assistant coach during Jim Jabir's final season of his first Siena stint during the 1989-90 campaign.

The defending America East champions are led by sixth-year head coach Colleen Mullen, and enter Saturday following a three-game road trip that concluded with a 79-35 loss at #4 Stanford last Sunday. The Great Danes currently tops in the AEC in six different statistical categories including points per-game (66.2) and scoring defense (54.7), and are led offensively by senior Kayla Cooper at 13.0 points per-game. The team was selected third in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, while Cooper was named a Preseason All-Conference selection.