ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Siena Women's Basketball's latest feat of adversity could not have come at a more opportune time. Coming off matching the most regular season wins in 20 years, the No. 4 Saints (19-12) overcame a late second half deficit to compete a double-digit comeback over Defending MAAC Champion No. 5 Fairfield in a 59-53 victory in the MAAC Quarterfinals at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey Thursday afternoon.
Having swept Fairfield during the regular season, the Green and Gold began neck-and-neck with its most frequently faced postseason foe, with the Saints owning a two-point lead at the end of one quarter. The Stags used eight first-half fast break points to own a four-point edge at the half over the Saints.
The mid-point of the third quarter saw Fairfield embark on a 9-2 run to hold a game-high ten-point lead, 43-33, with three minutes remaining in the quarter. With their backs against the wall and potentially just thirteen minutes of the 2022-23 season remaining for them, Siena brought the energy it needed from that point forward.
The Saints turned in a 14-2 run out of the third and into the fourth quarter, with sophomore Anajah Brown ending the period with an unlikely transition layup at the buzzer to bring her team within four. A jumper from sophomore Valencia Fontenelle-Posson with 6:49 remaining allowed Siena to take a 46-45 lead and complete the comeback.
 While the Stags came back and knotted the game twice more, Siena held them off the board completely during the final three minutes and forty-eight seconds of play. Junior Ahniysha Jackson's jumper with 3:09 remaining gave Siena back the lead for good, while freshman Angel Jones drove coast-to-coast and laid in a tricky underhanded layup that drew a foul with thirty-six seconds left to put the icing on the cake.
Siena saw all of its players score at least a point for the 16th time this season, with Fontenelle-Posson and Joes leading the way with ten points apiece. Brown went for eight points and seven rebounds, while freshman Elisa Mevius added five assists. Siena shot 37 percent from the field and recorded a win this season for the first time while being out-rebounded, with Fairfield holding a 39-38 edge on the boards.
First Team All-MAAC selection Callie Cavanagh led the way for the Stags with 18 points, while Third Team All-MAAC selection Janelle Brown added 12. Â
Advancing to its first MAAC Semifinals trip in five years, Siena will next face MAAC Regular Season Champion No. 1 Iona in a Semifinal matchup on Friday, March 10 at 11 AM, with the winner advancing to Saturday's MAAC Championship Game.
