ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – One down, two to go. Following a definitive win to open 2024 MAAC postseason play, Siena Women's Basketball continues MAAC Tournament action with a showdown against one of its fiercest conference foes of recent history. The No. 3 seed Saints (18-11, 14-6) face off with No. 2 Niagara (19-12, 15-5) for a spot in the 2024 MAAC Championship Game on Friday, March 14 at 1:30 PM inside Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Friday's MAAC Semifinal contest can be viewed on ESPN+, with Joel Godett and Meghan McKeown on the call, and can be heard locally on 88.3 FM The Saints or anywhere on iHeartRadio. Pregame coverage tips off at 1 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 continues its 35th MAAC Tournament, with the program holding an all-time mark of 31-33, including 4-14 in the semifinal round, 3-2 as the No. 3 seed, and 1-10 vs. the No. 2 seed. The Saints and the Purple Eagles face off in postseason play for the third time in the last four seasons and the eighth time ever, with Siena owning a 5-2 advantage. This includes a loss to Niagara in the 2022 MAAC Quarterfinals and a win in the 2021 First Round. The Green and Gold defeated Niagara in the 2003 MAAC Semifinals while dropping a decision in the 1997 Semifinals.

The Saints began the postseason with a definitive 80-57 win over No. 6 Mount St. Mary's in the MAAC Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon to advance to the Semifinal round in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns. The Green and Gold held an 18-point halftime lead and recorded its fourth-largest margin of victory in a MAAC Tournament game ever while eclipsing the 80-point mark for the first time this season and the first time in the MAAC Tournament since 2014. Senior Ahniysha Jackson led the way with 22 points on her 22nd birthday with five of the team's season-high tying 12 triples made, while sophomore Teresa Seppala added 18 points and freshman Alden Yergey had 12. Sophomore Elisa Mevius recorded double-digit assists for the second straight game with 12 points, ten helps, eight rebounds, and a season-high eight steals. The team capped the game with a season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for its first-ever postseason win over The Mount.

Mevius recorded the program's first-ever triple-double and in the MAAC this season with 16 points, 16 rebounds, and ten assists at Rider on March 7 to close the regular season.  The performance was good for just the fifth one this season nationally to include at least 15 points and 15 rebounds. The Rendsburg, Germany native capped Siena's third straight week with the MAAC Player of the Week by earning her first honor of the season on March 7.

Seppala gave the program its first back-to-back MAAC Player of the Week honors since 2002 by taking home her second straight MAAC Player of the Week on March 4. She averaged a double-double of 20.5 points and 13.5 rebounds to help the Saints to home wins over Marist and Mount St. Mary's. The week included recording the most rebounds in a game by a Siena player (16) in two years against The Mount. After averaging 24 points over two games, Seppala took home her first collegiate MAAC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 26, marking the program's first campaign with multiple MAAC Player of the Week honorees since the 2016-17 season. The Tempere, Finland native went for a career-high 29 points on Feb. 22 against Fairfield, while adding 19 points at Saint Peter's two days later.

Siena locked up a first-round bye in the MAAC Championship for the third time in as many seasons under head coach Jim Jabir as the No. 3 seed for the first time since 2018. The program has compiled back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2002-03 and 2003-04 campaigns, and completed its winningest MAAC campaign since 2002-03 with 14 wins.

Mevius locked up Siena's sixth MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honor and first since 2016-17, while the team featured Mevius and Seppala as First Team All-MAAC selections to mark just the second time in program history with multiple First Team selections. The other time also marked players recruited by Coach Jabir: Siena Athletics Hall of Fame members Liz Lops and Kim Colunio in 1993-94. Junior Anajah Brown and Jackson took home Third Team All-MAAC honors, with Brown doing so for the second straight year and Jackson securing her first collegiate postseason honor.

Mevius used only 23 games on the season to set the program single-season record for steals, surpassing Siena Athletics Hall of Fame member Tehresa Coles '14, HOF '23 on Feb. 17 at Canisius with her 99th steal of the year. She set the MAAC single-season record for swipes with her 119th of the year at Rider on March 7, and continues to rank second nationally in both total steals and steals per-game.

The Green and Gold started 7-3 in the MAAC in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 campaigns, and started 10-3 in the league for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign. The Saints won seven straight games from Jan 18 - Feb. 10 for the first time since winning ten-in-a-row during the 2002-03 season, which marks the program's most recent appearance in the MAAC Championship Game. The team also recorded 70 points or more in nine straight games from Jan. 18 - Feb. 15, which tied for the program's second-longest streak and is the longest since a record ten straight games of doing so during the 1994-95 season.

After recording a career-high 33 points on February 8 at Iona, Brown took home her second MAAC Player of the Week award on February 12, becoming the first Siena player to win multiple MAAC Player of the Week awards since the 2016-17 season. No Siena player has won three MAAC Player of the Week awards in a single season since Siena Athletics Hall of Fame member Laura Menty '08, HOF '12 did so during the 2007-08 campaign. Brown's 33-point outburst against Iona on February 8 was good for only the 15th single-game performance of 33 points or more in program history, and just the fourth this millennium. It was the first single-game output of 33 points since 2017, and the second 30-point performance by a Saint this season.

Siena won four games by 18 points or more from January 18 - February 1, marking the first time the team has held that large of a victory margin in four straight games since the 1990-91 season, and only the fifth time in program history.  The Saints also won three straight home games by 20 or more points for the first time since the 2001-02 season from Jan. 18 - Feb. 1.

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.

The team featured nine in the scoring column in a home win over Quinnipiac on February 14, marking the second time this season nine players have scored in a game. The team has had eight or more players score in a game 11 times this season. Siena has had at least one player finish in double-figure scoring in 137 straight contests dating back to a 52-48 loss at Manhattan on 2/3/19.

Continuing the program's 50^th varsity season, Mevius, Brown, and Jackson rounded out the regular season ranking 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 (4.32), and in total steals (121), and 34th nationally in minutes per-game (35.8). The Rendsburg, Germany native also now leads the league in both assists per-game (4.5) and total assists (140). Brown leads the league in both blocks per-game (1.67), while Jackson is second in total three-pointers (60) and three-pointers per-game (2.22).

The Saints meet Niagara for the 90^th time in program history while owning a 52-37 all-time advantage since 1979.  Siena's most frequent opponent in program history will be its first opponent ever faced for the 90th time on Friday. The two squads meet in the MAAC Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons after splitting the regular season series. Siena grabbed a 66-64 home win on Jan. 11 off the strength of 17 points from Jackson, 15 from Mevius, and the go-ahead bucket with 22 seconds remaining from Teresa Seppala. The Purple Eagles went on to overcome a five-point halftime deficit in an 84-70 win in Western New York on February 15 via a 29-14 third quarter. Brown led the way with 22 points, while sophomore London Gamble had 13 and Mevius & Seppala added ten apiece. The teams have split each of the last four matchups, with each winning the last two at home. Head coach Jim Jabir is 7-6 all-time against Niagara, and helped the program score a single-game record 113 points on Feb. 26, 1990.

The No. 2 seed in the MAAC Tournament for the second straight year, Niagara aims for its first MAAC Championship Game appearance since 1997. The Purple Eagles defeated No. 7 Quinnipiac, 70-56, in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday, weathering an eight-point second quarter to put up 29 points in the third quarter. Ameila Strong led the team with 20 points, while Ary Hicks added 14 and Second Team All-MAAC selection Aaliyah Parker added 12. Aaliyah Parker leads the team with 12.2 points, while fellow Second Team selection Angel Parker averages ten points per-game. The team is led by ninth-year head coach Jada Pierce, who was a preseason selection to the Mid-Major Coach of the Year Watchlist.