LOUDONVILLE, NY - Fans are encouraged to pink out the UHY Center Thursday when Siena Women's Basketball (9-9, 6-3 MAAC) hosts the Marist Red Foxes (11-8, 6-3 MAAC) at 6 p.m. for the program's 24th annual Pink Zone game.
Siena has once again partnered with
The Donna Foundation to hold its 24th annual "Pink Zone" game presented by Albany Medical Health System. Since its inception, the event has grossed over $200,000 towards local Capital Region breast cancer survivors. The event will feature in-person recognition of breast cancer survivors and those thriving prior to the start of the game, in what has become a meaningful team tradition carried on for over two decades.
Donations for The Donna Foundation will be collected and Pink Zone t-shirts will be sold at the game for a cash-only price of $15, with proceeds benefiting The Donna Foundation. There will also be a 50/50 raffle for the foundation and a special jewelry item generously donated by Hannoush Jewelers.
Emmanuel Berbari and Brian Rubino will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio are on hand for the local broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, live stats, international stream, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.
Coming off a season-high 27 points against Iona last Saturday,
Ahniysha Jackson eyes another program milestone after having recently become the 30th member in program history to 1,000 points. With 187 career made three-point baskets, Jackson needs 13 more to be the third player in program history to eclipse 200 for their career, while the all-time program mark of 205 is not much farther away either.
Two other long-standing Saints inch closer to program milestones as well.
Teresa Seppala needs just eight more points to become the 31st player to reach 1,000 points, as well as another 21 rebounds to hit 500. Seppala and Jackson can become the first Siena teammates to reach the program's 1,000-point club in the same season since Siena Hall of Fame inductee
Kollyns Scarbrough and
Megan Donohue did so in 2016-17.
Anajah Brown is also just one block away from being the eighth player in program history to reach 100 career rejections. After having previously hit 500 career boards, she would become just one of six with 500 rebounds, and 100 blocks in their Siena career.
Not to be lost in play by her upperclassmen teammates,
Myriam Traore dropped 14 points Saturday to tie a career-high, which happened to also come against Iona on Jan. 4. The freshman also came down with a career-high seven rebounds in Saturday's win.
The Erin Doughty-led Marist Red Foxes enter Thursday 11-8 overall, and 6-3 in MAAC play. One of the league's top-ranked defenses allowing 57.0 points per outing, Marist has held opponents to .378 shooting from the field - the third-lowest mark in the league - and .297 from three -the fourth-lowest clip in the MAAC. Center Morgan Lee leads the Red Foxes with 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while Lexie Tarul has netted 11.7 points per night. A threat from beyond the arc, Marist has attempted the second-most three-pointers in the conference this season (431), with Tarul's 125 looks from deep topping the league.
Marist enters Thursday with a slight 42-38 edge in the all-time series. After dropping nine straight in the series from 2017-18 to 2020-21, Siena has swept Marist in each of the last three seasons for six straight wins. Currently riding its longest winning streak in the series since winning 10 straight from 2000-01 to 2004-05, the Saints have won each of the last six games by an average of 13.3 points. The Saints won the most recent matchup, 73-62, on Feb. 29, 2024 in Loudonville, NY. Jackson and Seppala served as the leading scores in that game with 19 and 18, respectively, with Seppala adding 11 rebounds to post her second of three double-doubles last season.
Siena will play the first of back-to-back away games at 2 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 1 against Quinnipiac.
