RYE, NY - A pair of early unblemished records in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play are put to test on Saturday afternoon when Siena Women's Basketball (6-6, 3-0 MAAC) travels to take on the Iona Gaels (5-8, 3-0 MAAC) at 1 p.m. from Hynes Athletics Center in New Rochelle, NY.
David Resnick and Edona Thaqi will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will have the local call on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, international stream, live stats, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.
After improving to 3-0 in conference following a 62-60 win at Manhattan on Thursday, the Saints will look to start 4-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Now qualified for league and national rankings after appearing in her ninth game of the season,
Teresa Seppala enters Saturday as the MAAC leader in points per game, netting 19.4 per outing following her 24-point performance on Thursday. That mark is also good enough for 29th in the country.
The Preseason All-MAAC First Team honoree has also eclipsed 20+ points in three of her last four games. Her success from the free throw line has had a large part in aiding her scoring surge, ranking fifth nationally shooting at a .968 clip from the charity stripe.
Zyriah Price has enjoyed a trio of solid performances in league games, nearly averaging a double-double with 11.3 points and 8.7 boards in such outings. Her point total over the team's three MAAC games is only topped by Seppala's 21.0, and her rebounding numbers are just behind
Anajah Brown's 9.3.
Coming off a career high six assists against Manhattan,
Ahniysha Jackson is well on pace to break her previous single-season career high of 56 set last season. Already with 35 this season, "Baby" is averaging 5 per game over her last three outings to increase her season average to 3.2. On the other end of the floor, Jackson has recorded 13 steals over her last four games, compared to her mark of four over her first seven outings.
Under second-year head coach Angelika Szumilo, Iona owns a 5-8 mark as part of its 3-0 conference record. While the team doesn't boast anyone netting double digit points per game, Zoey Ward and Judith Gomez combine for 16.4, with Gomez's 8.0 coming on .417 percent shooting from the field. While the Gaels offense ranks 12th in the league averaging just under 52 PPG, the defense has made up for the lack of scoring - holding opponents to 60.1 PPG which is the fourth-lowest average in the MAAC.
Siena and Iona clash for the 80th time ever on Saturday afternoon, with the Saints entering the matchup with a 46-33 advantage in the series. The series has been tight since the turn of the century, with Iona having won 28 of 55 games since 2000-01. After the Gaels swept the series in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Siena returned the favor last season by taking both games - 77-56 at home on Jan. 20, 2024, and 74-57 on the road on Feb. 8, 2024.
Last season, Brown dominated her two outings against Iona - averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds per game, posting a double-double in each. In the second meeting between the teams last season at Hynes Athletics Center, Brown dropped a career high 33 points in 30 minutes of play, shooting 14-22 from the floor.
Siena returns home on Thur., Jan. 9 to host Quinnipiac for its annual Kids Day game at 11 a.m. from the UHY Center.
