BUFFALO, NY — Siena Women's Basketball wraps up its Western New York swing Sunday afternoon, carrying a three-game winning streak into a 1 p.m. matchup against Canisius at the Koessler Athletic Center.
Siena (3-7, 1-0 MAAC) continued its historic defensive surge Friday night, setting a single-game program record with 29 steals in a win at Niagara. The Saints are now averaging 11.8 steals per game, ranking 34th nationally, while their 22.9 turnovers forced per contest leads the MAAC and sits 16th in the nation. Siena owns the league's top two single-game steals totals this season—22 against Central Connecticut State and 29 against Niagara—and is the only MAAC team with multiple 20-steal performances.
Offensively, the Saints were just as dominant, pouring in 107 points against Niagara. The total marked the highest scoring output by any MAAC team this season and Siena's first 100-point game since the 2000–01 campaign. Coming off back-to-back 38 point wins, Siena has won its last three games by an average of 34 points.
Freshman
Francesca Schiro led the charge with 32 points, becoming Siena's first 30-point scorer since Dec. 30, 2024. Her performance ranks as the second-highest single-game scoring total in the MAAC this season and is tied for 40th nationally. One of three league players to reach the 30-point mark this year, Schiro shot an efficient 12-for-16 from the floor and now ranks inside the national top 100 in both field goal percentage (98th, .500) and scoring average (83rd, 16.5 ppg). She's also the fourth highest scoring freshman in the country, trailing only Naomi White from Northern Arizona (23.0), Lauren Whittaker from Gonzaga (19.8), and Aliyah Chavez from Oklahoma (18.8).
Fellow freshman
Kaiya Rain Tucker also enjoyed a career night, recording Siena's first double-double of the season with career highs of 14 rebounds and 12 points. Tucker has averaged 8.25 rebounds over her last four games, raising her season average to 6.0 per contest.
A milestone is on the horizon as well, as
Jamariah Turner is 13 points away from 1,000 in her collegiate career. The graduate student has reached 13 points one time this season, coming in the season opener on Nov. 4.
Canisius enters Sunday at 2-8 overall after a 61-49 home loss to Saint Peter's in its MAAC opener on Dec. 19. The Golden Griffins rank eighth in the conference in scoring offense (56.0 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (73.9 ppg), but have excelled defensively from beyond the arc, holding opponents to 25.7% three-point shooting—31st nationally. Shariah Gailes leads Canisius and ranks sixth in the MAAC with 14.2 points per game, while also pacing the team and ranking fifth in the league with 7.3 rebounds per contest.
Sunday marks the 88th all-time meeting between Siena and Canisius, the Saints' most frequent MAAC opponent. Siena holds its highest winning percentage against any conference foe versus the Golden Griffins (.678), owning a 59-28 all-time record. The Saints swept last season's series, earning a 67-61 home win on Dec. 21, 2024, and a 72-58 victory in Buffalo on Feb. 22, 2025. While the teams have split the last four meetings at Koessler Athletic Center, Siena still maintains a 13-11 road edge since 2000.
Griffin Della Penna and Richard Walsh will call the action on ESPN+, with Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio providing radio coverage on WVCR 88.3 FM. Live stats, tickets, and courtside updates on X are available via the provided links.
Following Sunday's contest, Siena will enjoy an 11-day break before returning home to host Mount St. Mary's at the UHY Center at 2 p.m. on New Year's Day.
