LOUDONVILLE, NY – In the midst of a three-game homestand, Siena Women's Basketball will take the court for a special night on Thursday evening in search of a season split with a MAAC rival. The Saints (14-9, 8.5) host Manhattan (9-13, 6-7) at the UHY Center on Thursday, February 9 at 7 PM in its 22nd annual Pink Zone Contest.
Beginning in 1999, Siena's Pink Zone Game has raised over $200,000 toward breast cancer research and awareness. This year's game – sponsored by Albany Medical Health System and Hannoush Jewelers – will raise money to go toward The Donna Foundation, a Jacksonville, Florida-based organization whose mission is to provide financial assistance and support to those living with breast cancer and fund ground-breaking breast cancer research.
Game attendees are encouraged to wear pink – breast cancer's signature color – in an effort to "Pink Out the UHY." Donations for The Donna Foundation will be collected and Pink Zone t-shirts will be sold at the game for a cash-only price of $20, with proceeds benefiting The Donna Foundation. There will also be a 50/50 raffle for the foundation and a raffle for a ¼ carat Diamond Necklace, valued at $1,000, which was generously provided by Siena Women's Athletics sponsor Hannoush Jewelers.
The event will feature a return to in-person recognition of breast cancer survivors and those thriving prior to the start of the game, in what has become a meaningful team tradition carried on for over two decades. The team will also be holding a fundraiser to raise money for breast cancer support and awareness, with donations collected by visiting SienaSaints.com/PinkZoneDonate.
The Saints hold a 10-11 all-time mark in Pink Zone contests, and will look for a victory on Pink Zone for the second straight season after taking a 61-54 win over Monmouth on Feb. 3, 2022.
Thursday's contest can be viewed live on ESPN+ with Kelly O'Donnell and Brian Rubino on the call and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saint or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 1:30 PM, with 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 twitter page @Siena_WBB. Join the conversation by using the hashtags #MarchOn, #SienaSaints, and #MAACHoops.
The Saints dropped their second consecutive one-possession home contest last Saturday in the form of a 77-75 overtime loss at the hands of new MAAC foe Mount St. Mary's. After trailing by four at the half, Siena mounted a comeback and held a lead in the final seconds, but could not close the game out at the charity stripe and instead went to overtime for the second time this season. Mount St. Mary's completed the season sweep of the Saints, with Siena marking the third time this season that both five players were in double-figure scoring, and the team went over the 50-rebound mark.
 Sophomore Anajah Brown went for a career-high 19 points and added 13 boards, while freshman Teresa Seppala scored 15 points and added 11 rebounds to mark the first time this season that multiple Siena players recorded a double-double in a game. Siena's 56 rebounds against Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 4 were its most in a single game since a 63-board total in an overtime loss to Navy on Nov. 27, 2015.
Nevertheless, Siena has now started the year 9-4 in home contests for the first time since 2005-06,and has recorded the most home wins in a campaign since posting an 11-7 home mark during the 2017-18 season.
The team – which started the season as the youngest amongst NCAA Division I programs - has now claimed ten of the 13 total MAAC Rookie of the Week honors handed out so far this season, with Seppala winning the award in each of the past five weeks. The team also did so in each of the first five weeks of the year. Freshman Elisa Mevius won Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 14, Nov. 28, and Dec. 5, while Seppala has earned honors on Nov. 21, Dec. 12., Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan 23, Jan. 30, and Feb. 6. Siena has now earned ten MAAC weekly awards in a single season for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when it captured 13 total weekly honors and then-freshman Margot Hetzke won MAAC Rookie of Week accolades nine times. Ten total MAAC Rookie of the Week accolades equals the most in a single campaign in program history, with Seppala overtaking second for the most individual rookie honors won.
Siena currently leads the MAAC in scoring offense (67.8), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.80), and defensive rebounds per-game (27.9) while ranking second in assists per-game (14.5), rebounds per-game (42.04), rebound margin (+5.5), and steals per-game (9.5). Individually, Brown leads the league in total rebounds (180) and is third in rebounds per-game (7.8). Mevius ranks third in total assists (103) and assists per-game (4.5), while junior Ahniysha Jackson is third in three-point percentage (31.8) and three-pointers per-game (2.1). Brown's 34 blocks so far this season has her four away from entering the program's single-season top-ten list as of Feb. 8.
The Saints and the Jaspers will face off for the 72nd time since 1987, with Siena owning a 42-30 advantage in the all-time series. Winners of each of the last two matchups, Manhattan got the better of the Saints by way of a 37-point performance from MAAC Preseason Player of the Year Dee Dee Davis at Draddy Gymnasium, which led to a 78-53 Manhattan victory on Jan. 12. Mevius led the way for Siena with 14 points, while Brown also got in double figures with ten points. Siena has taken nine of the last ten series matchups in Loudonville dating back to 2009, including a 53-47 triumph on Jan. 15, 2022. The Jaspers were held to single digits in each of the final two quarters, with then-sophomore Jackson turning in 11 points to lead the Saints offensively.
After losing six of eight contests, Manhattan has triumphed in each of its last two games, including a 53-46 win against Fairfield on Feb. 2, and a 57-44 victory over Saint Peter's on Feb. 4. The Jaspers enter a stretch of three of its next four contests away from home after going 2-2 in three of its last four games in Riverdale. The 2021-22 MAAC runner-up ranked eighth nationally in offensive rebounds per-game (16.2), and also leads the league in blocks per-game (4.5), rebound margin (+6.9), and rebounding (42.8). Davis is currently fifth in the league in scoring at 14.6 points per-game, with Leyla Ozturk leading the MAAC in blocks per-game (1.8).
