LOUDONVILLE, NY – Currently enjoying its longest winning streak of the 2023-24 season, Siena Women's Basketball will play for a cause in its only home game over a two-week span. Winners of three straight, the Saints (9-8, 6-3) host Manhattan (14-4, 7-2) at the UHY Center on Thursday evening, with tip-off set for 7 PM.

Tickets to Thursday's game can be purchased by clicking the corresponding link or in-person at the UHY Center. The Siena Fan Relations Management Center is on-hand to handle all ticket-related inquiries, and can be reached by phone at (518) 487-2202 or by e-mail at sienatickets2@siena.edu. For all Siena Basketball ticket-related information, log onto sienasaints.com/tickets.

Thursday's contest serves as Siena's 23^rd annual Pink Zone game, which has raised over $200,000 towards breast cancer research and awareness since its inception in 1999. This year's game is presented by Albany Medical Health System, with The Donna Foundation once again serving as the primary beneficiary. A special pregame ceremony will take place to honor breast cancer survivors and thrivers, while doctors from Albany Medical Health System will be honored at halftime. Select raffle prizes will be available for purchase during the game, with proceeds going to benefit The Donna Foundation.

Thursday's contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with the "Voice of the Saints" Emmanuel Berbari and Brian Rubino 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 PM, 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 is 11-11 all-time on Pink Zone night and has claimed victory in each of the last two Pink Zone games under head coach Jim Jabir - including a 75-65 win over Manhattan on February 9, 2023.

The Saints won their third straight contest with a 78-60 victory at Quinnipiac last Saturday. Senior Ahniysha Jackson led the way as the team's fourth different 20-point scorer this season with 20 points, while sophomore Teresa Seppala went for 17 points, junior Anajah Brown added 14 points, and sophomore Elisa Mevius had ten points. Siena shot over 40 percent from the field (44.8 %) for the sixth straight game, while scoring over 70 points and recording at least 40 points in the second half for the fourth straight contest.

Siena's last three wins have come to the tune of 18 or more points, marking the first time the team has held that large of a victory margin in three straight games since February 6-12, 2003. The Green and Gold will look to start MAAC play 7-3 for the second straight season, which would mark the first such occurrence in consecutive campaigns since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

After averaging a double-double on the week, Brown earned both her first career MAAC weekly award and the team's first accolade of the season when she was named the MAAC Player of the Week on January 22. The Norristown, Pennsylvania product finished off a stretch of double-doubles in three straight games for the second time in her collegiate career, also doing so Dec. 5-19 of 2022.

Siena has had at least one player finish in double-figure scoring in 124 straight contests dating back to a 52-48 loss at Manhattan on 2/3/19.

Continuing the program's 50^th varsity season, Mevius and 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 second nationally in steals per-game (4.24) third nationally in total steals (72), and 42rd nationally in minutes per-game (35.28). The Rendsburg, Germany native is also third in the league in assists (4.2). Brown leads the league in both blocks per-game (1.6) and total blocks (27). Mevius' steals mark represents the most swipes by a Siena player since 2000 through 17 games, while her 72 assists are the sixth-most. Brown's blocks are good for the third-most by a Siena player during that time.

Siena's first return opponent of the year in MAAC play, the Saints and the Jaspers face off for the 76^th time since 1987, with the Green and Gold owning a 48-27 all-time advantage in the series. Manhattan has claimed three of the last four in the series, including the most recent meeting to begin the 2024 calendar year in Riverdale - 60, 53. The game featured a 28-point outburst from Manhattan's Ines Gimenez Monserrat, while Jackson (19 points) and Seppala (15 points) each landed in double-figures. The teams split the season series last year, with Siena locking up a home win, also on Pink Zone. Despite recent shortcomings, the Saints have claimed seven of the last eight meetings at home. Coach Jabir is 4-5 all-time against the Jaspers, with all nine meetings coming while in Loudonville.

Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Heather Vulin and coming off back-to-back appearances in the MAAC Championship Game, Manhattan is off to its best start overall in recent memory, and owns the league's second-longest winning streak with five straight victories. At 7-3 away from home this season, the Jaspers swept their Buffalo trip two weeks ago, and knocked off Marist at home and Iona on the road last week. Ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense with only 52.6 points per-game surrendered, Manhattan boasts the reigning MAAC Player of the Week in Ines Gimenez Monserrat, who leads the team in scoring alongside Nitzan Amar with 10.3 points per-game.