EMMITSBURG, MD – Following the conclusion of 2023 home play, Siena Women's Basketball is set to kick off its longest road trip of the season to complete the initial stretch of MAAC play. The Saints (3-5, 0-1) begin a two-game, five-day road stretch with the trek down to Emmitsburg, Maryland to battle new league foe Mount St. Mary's (3-6, 0-1) on Monday, December 18, with tip-off set for 7 PM at Knott Arena.

Monday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with Christian Taylor and Heather De Wees on the call, and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saints or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 6:30 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 opened conference play with a close 65-63 home loss to Canisius on Saturday that came down to the wire, with the Golden Griffins knocking down a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to seal the deal. Siena lost despite outshooting their opponents on the afternoon (46.3 - 39.7), marking the first such occurrence for Siena since a road loss at Mount St. Mary's on December 19, 2022. The Green and Gold also held a 36-32 rebounding advantage, but fell to 0-5 this season when trailing at the half.

Sophomore Elisa Mevius registered her second 20-point performance of the year by tying a season-high with 21 points, while classmate Teresa Seppala went for her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore London Gamble added 11 points, while Seppala also turned in a career-best three blocks.

Now looking to avoid starting 0-2 in MAAC play for the fourth time in the last five seasons, Siena will look to wipe away a stretch of three losses during the last four MAAC road openers.

Mevius and junior Anajah Brown continue to rank at or near the top of the MAAC and among the national leaders in multiple statistical categories. Mevius leads the league and is third nationally in steals per-game (4.4), sixth nationally in minutes per-game (37.5), and sixth nationally in total steals (35), while Brown is first in the MAAC in both total blocks (13) and blocks per-game (1.6). Mevius also sits third in the league in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent. Her steals mark represents the most swipes by a Siena player since 2000 through eight games, while her 122 points are tied for the tenth-most over that span. Brown has the third-most blocks through eight contests by a Siena player since 2000.

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. The team's current road trip at Mount St. Mary's and at first-time foe Cincinnati will span five days and amount to 1,578 miles of travel, marking the team's furthest road endeavor since traveling to Florida to face then-head coach Jim Jabir's Florida Atlantic Owls on November 19, 2019.

The Saints look for the program's first win over their newfound conference rivals, with The Mount securing a season sweep in their first year in the league last season. The latter matchup went to overtime at the UHY Center, while the first meeting in 27 years saw Siena missing several key players in a 65-59 loss in Maryland on Dec. 19, 2022. Seppala secured her first collegiate double-double in the most recent matchup with 15 points and 11 boards. Jabir is 0-2 against the Mountaineers in 36 years of coaching, with both meetings coming during his current stint in Loudonville. Siena aims for its first win in the state of Maryland since a non-conference victory at Morgan State on November 28, 2015.

Led by third year head coach Antoine White, Mount St. Mary's looks to rebound after taking a 62-44 loss to Fairfield to open MAAC play on Saturday. Wrapping up a four-game home stand, the Mountaineers look to follow up back-to-back losses before heading to Big 12 foe TCU on Friday. Junior Jo Raflo leads the team offensively with 11.6 points per-game and ranks second in the MAAC with 2.22 three-pointers per-contest, while senior Jessica Tomasetti joins her in double-figures with 11 points per-game. The Mount's coaching staff features a familiar face in assistant coach Joe Haigh, who served as an assistant coach at Siena from 2019-21.