ALBANY, NY – Siena Women's Basketball trailed by just one point at the half of the 2023 Albany Cup matchup to its crosstown rival, but could not overcome a strong second half showing by the home team. The Saints (2-3) dropped both their third Albany Cup matchup and overall contest at the hands of UAlbany (5-2) in a 76-58 decision that opened the recently-renovated Broadview Center in Albany, New York on Saturday.

Facing off in an Albany Cup matchup for the third straight year, the Saints looked to erase back-to-back losses and started pound-for-pound with the 2023 America East runners-up, with the teams playing to a 19-19 score at the end of the first quarter.

The Great Danes opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run, but Siena responded with seven straight points from sophomore Elisa Mevius to pull out to a 31-30 lead with 2:35 remaining in the half. UAlbany netted seven of the next nine points and looked to take a four-point lead into the locker room, but senior Ahniysha Jackson had other plans.

Following a missed UAlbany three-pointer, the Capital Region native stepped up and drained a contested half-court buzzer beater to put the Saints back within the point and give the team its second half-court make in just under ten months.

The teams traded three-point shots to begin the second half, but the magic did not last for the Saints, as UAlbany embarked in a 12-0 run to end the period and outscored their rivals, 20-8 for the quarter. Siena strung together the first five points of the fourth quarter and briefly cut the home team lead to seven, but the Great Danes closed things out for their 11^th win in the last 12 Albany Cup matchups.

Mevius led all scorers with 17 points for her fifth straight double-digit scoring performance while adding six steals for her fourth game with five or more swipes this season. Junior Valencia Fontenelle-Posson added 12 points for her fourth straight game in double-figures, while Mevius led the way with five boards.

UAlbany's Kayla Cooper and Helene Haegerstrand led four double-digit scorers with 13 points apiece as the Great Danes shot 53.7 percent from the field compared to 41.2 percent from the Saints and held a definitive 36-21 rebound advantage.

Siena will return home to continue non-league play against Fordham on Thursday, December 7 at 7 PM inside the UHY Center.