LOUDONVILLE, NY - Crosstown foes collide Wednesday night with local bragging rights on the line. Siena Women's Basketball will look to retain the Albany Cup following last year's victory against the UAlbany Great Danes. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. from the Broadview Center on the campus of UAlbany.
While Wednesday night's game is a short drive from Siena, the Saints begin a season-long three-game road stand, not returning to the UHY Center until hosting New Haven on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
In Siena's most recent game on Nov. 16 against Dartmouth,
Francesca Schiro continued an excellent start to her freshman campaign. The one-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week poured in 22 points to make her just one of three players in the MAAC with multiple 20-point performances. Her 28 points scored at Massachusetts on Nov. 8 remain tied for third as a MAAC single-game high as well. Schiro, the team leader in points per game (17.0), also ranks fourth in the conference in the category as well.
On Wednesday night, Siena will test its shooting defense against a UAlbany team that has been shooting at a top-40 percentage nationally. The Green and Gold have stepped up to the task already this season, ranking third in the MAAC, holding opponents to a 39.3% clip from the field, and just once allowing a team to shoot over 35% through its first four games.
The Great Danes are off to a 2-2 start this season with victories over Marist (74-46) and Dartmouth (65-41). The 18th-best three-point shooting team (40.3%) and 39th-best field goal shooting team in the country (48.0%) boast six players averaging 20 or more minutes per game who shoot at least 47.4% from the floor. Lara Langermann is second in the country, shooting 72.7% from deep this season. Additionally, three players—Amaya Stewart, Delanie Hill, and Martina Borrellas—are averaging 10-plus points per game, while Borrellas and Stewart also serve as the team's leading rebounders.
The crosstown rivals are set to meet for the 27th time ever, with UAlbany holding a slight 14-12 edge in the all-time series. Limited to just seven active players in last season's Albany Cup, the 2-4 Saints welcomed the 7-0 Great Danes to the UHY Center on Dec. 7, 2024. Behind 23 points from
Ahniysha Jackson and an +11-rebound margin, Siena handed UAlbany its first loss of the season with a remarkable 70-65 victory to hoist the Albany Cup for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Additionally, the Saints will look to win back-to-back Albany Cup games for the first time since doing so in 2007 and 2009. After Siena's second of two straight wins in 2009, UAlbany went on to take eight straight from 2010 to 2017. The Great Danes are 3-2 in the rivalry game since 2019, with Siena winning both at home in 2019 and 2024.
Rich Becker and Matt Kearns will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedeo will have the local call on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, live stats, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.
Following UAlbany, the Saints remain on the road to take on Big Ten foe Rutgers at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, NJ.
