RIVERDALE, NY - For the first time since the 2018-19 season, Siena Women's Basketball is off to a 3-0 start in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play. Despite trailing for 20 minutes in all, the Saints (6-6, 3-0 MAAC) fought back to defeat the Manhattan Jaspers (6-6, 0-3 MAAC) 62-60 from Draddy Gymnasium on Thursday evening.  
 
Teresa Seppala dropped 24 points on 8-20 shooting from the floor, 3-10 from three, and 5-5 from the free throw line. She also led the team with four rebounds and three steals. Anajah Brown totaled 11 points in the win, while Zyriah Price finished one point shy of a double-double with nine and 11 boards. 
 
Myriam Traore went 3-3 from the field, including 2-2 on timely threes, to finish with nine points. Ahniysha Jackson led the Saints with six assists. 
 
Brianna Davis led the Jaspers with 22, going 7-11 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. Tegan Young and Ines Gimenez Monserat had 10 each. 
 
Entering the under-five media timeout of the first quarter, Siena held a 10-2 lead thanks to 50 percent shooting from the floor as a team (5-10 FG). In that span, Eszter Turi came away with four rebounds while Brown netted four points. Over the remainder of the frame, the Jaspers battled back thanks to 5-7 shooting from the line, making it 15-12 entering the second. 
 
Manhattan's run continued into the fresh quarter, out-scoring the Saints 10-5 over the first 5:18, and 20-10 in total going back to the 3:50 mark in the first. The Saints limited Manhattan to six points over the remainder of the half, but the favor was handed back with only seven offensive points to trail 29-26 at halftime. 
 
Nitzan Amar and Tegan Young came out firing for the Jaspers, draining a trio of threes over a two-minute span. However, Seppala and Traore answered back, combining for six points to bring the Saints back within two. While Manhattan continued to find success from beyond the arc, Siena responded nearly each time. Seppala accounted for eight of the team's 19 points in the third, while Manhattan scored 15 of its 19 from three to enter the fourth with a 48-45 edge. 
 
Price and Seppala combined for a quick six Siena points to begin the fourth, tying the game at 51 with just under seven minutes to play. Immediately after the Jaspers jumped back ahead, Traore drained a pull-up three to put Siena up by one with 5:54 to go. 
 
Brianna Davis kept Manhattan around -scoring each of the team's seven points after that moment. However, the All-MAAC duo of Seppala and Brown did the same for the Saints - including a game-tying mid-range jumper off an inbound pass by Seppala that evened the game with 18 seconds to play. 
 
Seppala's clutch gene carried over to the free throw line not long after. After coming away with a steal, the junior was fouled while attacking the rim, and buried two free throws with five seconds to go. With one last chance, Manhattan's game-winning three attempt was no good to send the Saints home with a win. 

Siena prepares to take on Iona at 1 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 4, from Hynes Athletics Center in New Rochelle, NY. Tickets for Saturday's game can be purchased here.
 
This post-game recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through—on the court and for your home.