LOUDONVILLE, NY – Taking the court at home for the final time this calendar year, Siena Women's Basketball will aim to end 2023 and begin conference play on a high note on Saturday afternoon. The Saints (3-4) are set to commence their 35^th MAAC season against longtime foe Canisius (4-3) at the UHY Center on Saturday, December 16, with tip-off set for 2 PM in Loudonville.

Tickets to Saturday's game can be purchased by clicking the corresponding link or in-person at the UHY Center. The Siena Fan Relations Management Center is on-hand to handle all ticket-related inquiries, and can be reached by phone at (518) 487-2202 or by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu. For all Siena Basketball ticket-related information, log onto sienasaints.com/tickets.

Fans are invited to celebrate "Christmas with the Saints" on Saturday, and will enjoy a free hot chocolate bar, Christmas ornament decorating, and other types of Christmas cheer. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Christmas sweaters, with the best Christmas sweater of the day earning a special prize.

Saturday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with the "Voice of the Saints" Emmanuel Berbari 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.

The Saints will look to rebound after suffering an 88-59 road loss at the hands of ACC foe Boston College on Sunday. Despite trailing by only seven at the half, the Green and Gold took home their worst loss of the season to-day after being outscored, 54-32, in the second half and outrebounded, 40-31, on the day. Sophomore Teresa Seppala led the way with 12 points, while sophomore Elisa Mevius posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards. Freshman Alden Yergey tied a season high for the third time with 11 points, while freshman Eszter Turi posted career-bests of six points and seven rebounds.

Siena is 16-18 in MAAC openers since joining the league in 1989, and will look to start 1-0 in league play for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Saints are 2-3 all-time in MAAC openers against Canisius, with the last such occurrence coming during the 2012-13 season.

As the team looks to round out 2023 on a high note, a win would put them at 16 victories this calendar year for the second straight season and would mark the fourth-such occasion in the last 11 seasons.

Following a stretch of three of four games at home and all four inside the Capital Region over a span of 22 days, the Saints are now in the midst of four of five contests away from home from Dec. 10 - Jan. 6.

Siena lost junior Valencia Fontenelle-Posson for the season after suffering an ACL injury in the first half of the team's 65-62 victory against Fordham at the UHY Center on Dec. 7.

Siena continues to boast multiple players who rank at or near the top in the conference or nationally in statistical categories. Mevius currently leads the MAAC in minutes per-game (38.1), total steals (33), and steals per-game (54.7), and ranks second nationally in steals per-contest and minutes per-game, and 8^th in total steals. Junior Anajah Brown tops the league in blocks per-game (1.7) and ranks 50^th nationally, while leading MAAC with 12 total swats.

Mevius' 101 points scored through seven games so far this season rank tied for13^th of any Saint since 2000. She has posted the most steals (33) by any Saint this millennium, while Brown's 2 blocks are tied for the second-most since 2000.

Siena's most frequent opponent in program history and the team it owns the most wins over, Canisius has fallen to the Saints in each of the last three and eight of last nine meetings. Siena completed a season sweep in the last meeting with Seppala posting 22 points and Ahniysha Jackson and Anajah Brown also going for double-figures with15 and 14 points, respectively. Siena has won seven straight meetings in Loudonville over the Golden Griffins dating back to 2015, while head coach Jim Jabir is 9-3 overall when facing his team's MAAC rival - with the series dating back to the 1979-80 season.

Off to a 4-3 start this season, Canisius is enjoying a two-game win streak while on a six-game road trip from November 26 – December 21. The Golden Griffins took a 63-56 win at St, Bonaventure on Nov. 30, and most recently handled common opponent Binghamton, 71-64, on Dec. 8. Led by third-year head coach Sahar Nusseibeh, the Griffs lead the league and rank 14^th nationally in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent and boast the MAAC's second leading scorer in sophomore Sisi Eleko with 16.1 points per-contest.