LOUDONVILLE, NY - For the second consecutive season, Siena Women's Basketball will enter the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships as a top-three seed. Siena's gutsy 52-49 victory over the visiting Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers from the UHY Center Saturday afternoon secured the team the three-seed in the upcoming MAAC Championships. 
 
The Saints will play the sixth-seed in the tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 13, from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. 
 
This also marks the second consecutive season in which the Saints have won seven straight games, doing so from Jan. 18, 2024 – Feb. 10, 2024.
 
Teresa Seppala led the Saints (17-10, 14-4 MAAC) with 19 points, including 10-10 shooting from the free throw line to further cement her national lead. The junior also came away with seven rebounds, and accounted for each off the team's three blocks. Ahniysha Jackson produced 13 points, while Aniya Hooker added eight - six of which coming from the line. The freshman also had four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. 
 
Anajah Brown made her presence felt on the glass, collecting 10 rebounds while also dishing out a team-high five assists. Ana Conde was a presence on the boards too, bringing down eight in 22 minutes in reserve. 
 
Siena limited the Mount's (13-14, 11-7 MAAC) leading score Jo Raflo to just seven points on 2-12 shooting from the field, and 1-4 from three. Siena also out-rebounded the Mountaineers 48-31, including 21-10 on the offensive glass. 
 
The sides were slow out of the gate through the opening five minutes, combining to go 3-14 from the field as the Mount held a 5-2 lead at the under-five media timeout. The Mountaineers grew their lead to 11-2, but the Saints responded with a 9-0 run over the final 3:20 of play of the quarter to enter the second tied 11-11. Aside from one Jackson three, the Saints scored their other eight points in the paint. Each side also had five first quarter turnovers. 
 
While Siena's shooting struggles carried into the second, the team was able to get to the line to take and maintain its first lead of the game. Of the Saints' 23 points in the second, 14 came from the charity stripe with Hooker going 6-6, Seppala 4-4, and Jackson 4-5. The Green and Gold held the Mount to 5-16 shooting, and forced an additional four turnovers to enter halftime ahead 34-22.
 
The Mount chipped away slightly in the third, out-scoring Siena 14-10 in the frame to make it a 44-36 contest entering the fourth. While both teams hit four field goals - the Mount 4-10, and Siena 4-14 - the Mountaineers also made 12 trips to the free throw line. However, the visitors only cashed in on five attempts to help the Saints keep a relative cushion with 10 minutes to play. 
 
A quick 5-0 run by the Mount the open the fourth suddenly closed Siena's lead to three points with 7:48 to play, while the Saints went 0-4 from the floor during the run. On the team's next possession, Gabrielle Kennerly drained a three to tie the game at 44 - drawing the teams even for the first time since the 5:09 mark in the second. 
 
Siena came back, however, with a pull-up KB Hadley jumper, followed by a pair of Seppala free throws to regain the lead at 48-44 with under five minutes to play. Later with the Saints ahead 50-44, Kennerly connected on another three to bring the Mount back within one possession and 1:27 to play. 
 
Then with the score 50-49 in favor of Siena, the Mount had possession with 16 seconds to go on its offensive end of the floor. The Saints forced a turnover, with the ball ending up in Seppala's hands. Upon a foul, the junior went to the line for two and sank both to ice to essentially ice the game. Down by three on its final possession, the Mount drove the line rather than attempting a game-tying three and came up empty. 
 
Siena travels to take on Fairfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 6 for a nationally televised game on ESPNU.
 
This post-game recap is proudly presented by The Brothers that just do Gutters, a proud partner of Siena Athletics. Trust the team that always comes through—on the court and for your home.