KILDARE, IRELAND – The Siena Women's Basketball team traveled back to Dublin where its Foreign Tour of Ireland began eight days earlier and closed it with a "Dub-win" by draining a bombardment of 3-pointers to defeat a collection of players from the premier Irish Super League team Liffey Celtics and select others in an 83-61 convincer on Tuesday night at the Leixlip Amenities Sports Centre.
The Irish team featured the majority of its players from the Liffey Celtics, who finished 17-3 last season in the Super League that is recognized by FIBA and is an active member of Basketball Ireland.
Unlike its previous game against an Irish opponent, the Saints came out scorching hot from beyond the arc and went ahead 15-4 behind a trio of 3-pointers from
Ahniysha Jackson and a pair from New Zealand freshman
Zoe Richardson.
Junior
Teresa Seppala and another freshman in
Aniya Hooker both got into the act as well, burying shots from outside to make it a 21-8 Siena advantage with 6:40 remaining in the opening quarter.
Jackson drove in for a tough shot and a foul basket to keep the Saints ahead at 28-22 in the closing minute. The sizzling shooting of Siena found the bottom of the basket on seven 3-pointers with an assist recorded on seven of nine baskets for the period.
Siena led 46-41 at the break and were able to open up a 17-point lead by the end of the third. Jackson stayed hot, connecting for a game-high 29 points including six 3-pointers.
Seppala added 15 points with four made 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds through three quarters.
Siena once again received contributions from many different players with newbies like freshman
Ana Conde and
KB Hadley making big plays. Conde had a pair of eye-opening plays including a well-placed skip pass over to Seppala, who knocked down a 3-ball. Earlier, the Madrid, Spain native backed down her defender and then drove around for an inside deuce.
Hadley showed active hands once again, coming up with a big steal and found Seppala for an open shot that pushed the Siena lead to eight in the final moments of the first half. Hadley also displayed her quickness in getting to the hoop for a gliding layup.
Jackson averaged 26 points per game in the pair of wins against the teams from Cork and Kildare, Ireland.
"I think it's just a matter of confidence," Jackson said. "Playing together and winning together. I think they (the new players) are fitting in well. We've been working all summer and it just proved that tonight. It was a great team win and I'm proud of our team. We definitely grew as a team (from being in Ireland) and it was a great experience for all of us."
Siena will travel back to New York for an early morning flight (Ireland time) after a memorable trip that also included a trip to Blarney castle, watching Irish step dancing, tasting Irish cuisine, touring the Guinness storehouse and sightseeing around Dublin over the past few days of the trip.
