LOUDONVILLE, NY - Local rivals clash at the UHY Center for the third time in five seasons on Saturday when Siena Women's Basketball and the University at Albany (UAlbany) Great Danes battle for the Albany Cup at 2 p.m. 
 
Kelly O'Donnell and Brian Rubino will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will provide commentary on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, international stream, live stats, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links. 
 
Fresh off its second consecutive victory of the season, Siena accomplished a feat in its win over UMass on Dec. 1 just as it did at Fairfield on Jan. 19, 2023 - winning a game with six active players. Of those six this past Sunday, Aniya Hooker, Teresa Seppala, Ahniysha Jackson, and KB Hadley each logged 37 or more minutes. 
 
In the win, the battle-tested Saints overcame a six-point halftime deficit - the first such occasion this season -while shooting a remarkable 75 percent (9-12) in the third quarter, and 57.5 overall in the second half to win by four points over the visiting Minutewomen. Seppala drained a season-best 21 in the victory, taking her double-digit scoring stream that dates back to last season to 12 consecutive games. 
 
Hooker increased her point total for the fourth consecutive game with her 13 being a single-game career best, as well as marking her second straight double-digit scoring game. Not to be lost in the scoring spree of a pair of teammates, Jackson distributed four assists on Sunday for her third four assist outing of the season. 
 
Under seventh-year head coach Colleen Mullen, UAlbany is off to a 7-0 start this season which includes a victory over Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome. Led by Preseason All-America East selection Kayla Cooper's 19.6 points per game (a top-30 scoring average in the country), the Great Danes have posted a +15.1 scoring margin this season - out-scoring opponents 69-53.9, with the near-54 opponent points per game coming in as a top-25 mark nationally.  
 
Saturday marks the 26th all-time meeting between the programs, with UAlbany having the advantage in the series, 14-11. Following years of playing neutral site games at MVP Arena, Saturday marks the fifth consecutive year in which the Albany Cup will be played at a campus site. The series shifts to Loudonville for the third time in that duration, with Siena's most recent win in the matchup coming at the UHY Center on Dec. 7, 2019 - exactly five years to the day of Saturday's game.
 
The Great Danes reclaimed the cup for the third consecutive season last year with a 76-58 win at the Broadview Center. 

Siena's month-long homestand continues at 2 p.m. on Sun., Dec. 15 to host yet another American East foe in Binghamton. Tickets for the game can be purchased here.