RIVERDALE, NY – Following a season-long 14-day hiatus from play, Siena Women's Basketball is set to conclude a three-game road trip to open the new year on Thursday. The Saints (4-6, 1-1) will kick off full-time MAAC play with a Kids Day matinee at league foe Manhattan (8-3, 1-1) on Thursday, January 4, with tip-off set for 11 AM from Draddy Gymnasium in Riverdale, New York.  

Thursday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with Jason Guerette and Chris Williams on the call, and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saints or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 10:30 A.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.

Siena closed out 2023 by continuing a season-long three-game road trip at Big 12 foe Cincinnati, falling in a 71-51 decision on December 21 in its second matchup with a high major opponent this season. Sophomore Teresa Seppala led the team with 11 points, while redshirt-freshman Nikola Zdenkova netted the first nine points of her collegiate career and freshman Constance Ogbeide made her Siena debut.

The Saints will enter MAAC play full-time looking to continue a trend of success when opening a calendar year. Siena is on a three-game winning streak in its first game of a calendar year, has won eight of the last nine, and is 18-6 since the start of the millennium, including a victory at Manhattan to begin 2014. Thursday's contest represents the Saints' final road game on a Thursday until February 8.

Continuing the program's 50^th varsity season, Sophomore Elisa 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 (4.00), 11th nationally in total steals (40), and 37th nationally in minutes per-game (35.4). Brown is first in the MAAC in blocks per-game (1.5) and second in total blocks (15). Mevius' steals mark represents the most swipes by a Siena player since 2000 through ten games, while her 132 points are the 18^th-most over that span. Brown has the fourth-most blocks through nine contests by a Siena player since 2000.

Having won three of the last five meetings in the series, Siena enters the 2024 edition of the series with Manhattan and the 75^th all-time meeting since 1987 following a 75-65 victory during its annual Pink Zone contest last February. Mevius led four Saints in double figures with 24 points, while Seppala added ten and the Saints outscored the Jaspers, 22-10, in the third quarter. Facing off inside Draddy Gymnasium on Kids Day for the second straight year, Manhattan has won the last two meetings in its home gym dating back to a 59-49 Siena win in Riverdale on Feb. 6, 2020. Head Coach Jim Jabir is 4-4 all-time against Manhattan in 36 years of coaching, with all eight prior meetings coming as Siena's head man.

Off to an 8-3 start to the 2023-24 season under the direction of eighth-year head coach Heather Vulin, Manhattan rebounded off a conference loss to frontrunner Fairfield by picking up wins over LIU and Hofstra to end the calendar year. The MAAC tournament runner-up in each of the past two seasons, the Jaspers currently lead the conference and rank tenth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 51.5 points per-game, while also steadying the league in fewest fouls (12.6, fourth nationally) and ranking 54^th nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.3). Picked to finish sixth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll this year, the team is led in scoring by transfer junior Nitzan Amar with 12.3 points per-game, while one-time MAAC Player of the Week Petra Juric and Leyla Ozturk each have 15 blocks so far this year.