LOUDONVILLE, NY - Siena Women's Basketball hits the road for the first time in 2025-26 for a test against the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutewomen at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Mullins Center in Amherst, MA.
Siena's game at UMass begins a stretch of five of its next six games coming on the road. The Green & Gold will play back-to-back away from UHY Center before returning home on Sunday, Nov. 16, to host Dartmouth. That will kickstart the team's longest road stand of the season with three consecutive away-from-home games at UAlbany, Rutgers, and Cornell, before returning to Loudonville on Dec. 2.
The Saints aim to bounce back following a season-opening defeat at the hands of Colgate on Nov. 4 in which the team was limited to 2-for-19 shooting from beyond the arc.
Jamariah Turner willed the Saints on both ends of the court in 27 minutes off the bench, recording team highs with 13 points (5-12 FG) and three steals. Including stops at previous schools Georgia Highlands and Stillman, it was Turner's 56th career game notching double figures in points.
Despite the losing effort to open the season, the Saints allowed the third-fewest points across the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference through each of the 13 teams' opening games—with one of the other two lower coming against a Division III opponent. Transition defense (four fast break points allowed) and perimeter defense (25% three-point shooting) highlighted the Saints' defensive efforts.
Under third-year head coach Mike Leflar, UMass opened its season with a 58-52 victory over Old Dominion (ODU) in Norfolk, VA, in the Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Conference Challenge. Led by 14 points in the game from sophomore Yahmani McKayle, the Minutewomen jumped out to an 18-9 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. While ODU attempted 20 more shots from the field, UMass used +11 turnover and +7 rebound margins to aid in a six-point win.
The Saints and Minutewomen are set for the 11th all-time meeting Saturday, with UMass holding a slight 6-4 edge in the series. Notably, each of the previous five meetings since the 2011-12 season has been decided by six points or fewer. Additionally, this will be the third matchup to take place in Amherst since the 2012-13 season, with the sides splitting the two previous meetings that featured a Siena win on Dec. 28, 2012, and a UMass victory on Dec. 15, 2019. Siena pulled off a remarkable 57-53 victory over UMass last season at UHY Center in which only six players were active. In what was the second victory of
Terry Primm's Siena career,
Zyriah Price brought in nine rebounds in the game alongside two points. Current Saint
Dallas Pierce also appeared for her former team at UMass.
Jay Burnham and Nathan Strauss have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will have the local broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Live stats, tickets, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.
Following UMass, Siena will remain on the road to take on Army West Point at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Christl Arena in West Point, NY.
