ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The chase for the second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship in program history begins Thursday afternoon for Siena Women's Basketball. The third-seeded Saints (17-12, 14-6) are set to take on the sixth-seeded Merrimack Warriors (13-16, 9-11) in the MAAC Quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. 
 
Making their 36th all-time MAAC Tournament appearance, the Saints look to improve upon a 31-34 overall record in postseason play - as well as a 19-13 mark in quarterfinal action. Siena owns a 3-0 all-time record when facing the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, and is 3-3 overall when entering the field as the No. 3 seed. With a victory, Siena would advance to the semifinals for the third consecutive season for the first time since 2011-13. 
 
Siena enters the postseason boasting four All-MAAC selections. Teresa Seppala was voted as one of two unanimous All-MAAC First Team selections. In doing so she became the program's first back-to-back All-MAAC First Team recipient since Lily Grenci from 2011-13. The junior leads the country shooting 95.3% from the free throw line (102-107) which also stands as a program single-season record entering the MAAC Championships. She capped off the regular season ranked fourth in the league averaging a career-high 16.5 PPG, and set a new single-season best shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc. Ahniysha Jackson was pinned an All-MAAC Second Team honoree after netting a career-high 15.3 PPG. The local standout set the program record for made three-pointers in a career in the regular season finale - now with 207 - and earlier this season became the 30th Saint to reach 1,000 career points.
 
For the third time in her career, Anajah Brown was selected to the All-MAAC Third Team. The senior concluded the regular season fifth in the league coming down with 7.2 rebounds per game, as well as ninth averaging just under one block per outing. This season she became just one of six players in program history to eclipse both 500 career rebounds and 100 career blocks, and has since climbed into the 600-rebounds club - becoming just one of 22 players to do so. Myriam Traore earned an All-Rookie Team nod, becoming the fourth Saint this decade to be featured on the team. The France native Appeared in 21 games with six starts with her 7.6 PPG ranking fourth on the Saints on a team-high 53.2% clip from the field. Traore scored in double figures six times this season, most notably with a career-high 15 at Quinnipiac on Feb. 1. She recently secured her first collegiate double-double at top-seeded Fairfield on Mar. 6 with 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. 
 
Under first-year head coach Terry Primm, Siena reached 14 wins in conference play for the second straight season to earn the No. 3 seed for the second consecutive season. The Saints enter the field as the third-highest scoring unit in the league averaging 64.4 PPG on the fourth-highest field goal percentage of 41.4%. Recent success from the charity stripe has aided in Siena's offensive production, with the team's 75.6% clip from the line leading the conference, as well as checking in top-60 in the country. Extra possessions have also contributed to offensive success, with Siena ranking second in the conference grabbing 11.9 offensive rebounds per game - led by 3.5 by Brown. 
 
On the defensive end of the floor, the Saints finished the regular season 10th in the league allowing 65.1 points per outing to opponents. However, the Green and Gold have held opposition to four of their five lowest-scoring games over the final 11 games of the season - allowing 46 to Marist (1/30), 49 to Rider (2/8), 49 to Mount St. Mary's (3/1), and 51 to Sacred Heart (2/15).  
 
Merrimack finished the regular season 13-16 overall, and 9-11 in the MAAC to capture the sixth-seed in the tournament. While not having played a true neutral site game this season, the Warriors are just 3-13 in contests played away from Hammel Court in North Andover, MA. Led by the team's lone double-digit scorer in Thalia Shapard (13.0 PPG), Merrimack produces the league's sixth-ranked scoring attack with 59.1 PPG on the MAAC's 10th-ranked shooting percentage from the field at 37.9%. On the defensive end, the Warriors are also sixth in the league allowing 62.6 PPG, with opponents shooting 41.4% from the floor. Merrimack has succeeded on the glass this season, coming down with the second-most rebounds per game in the conference (36.1), with 11.8 produced on the offensive end. Madison Roman checks in second in the league boasting 9.0 boards per outing. 
 
The postseason bout between the Saints and Warriors marks the third-ever meeting between the teams with the series even at 1-1. This will also be the first matchup between the teams not played at the UHY Center in Loudonville, NY. The first-ever meeting between the program's still marks Siena's most recent overtime game - a 67-64 Merrimack win on Nov. 28, 2023. 
 
Siena and Merrimack met just one time this season, resulting in a 79-57 Saints victory from the UHY Center on Jan. 18. Aside from an early 3-2 deficit, the Saints commanded the entire game led by 51 combined points from Jackson (21), Brown (16), and Seppala (14). The win served as Siena's best shooting performance of the season going 59.3% from the field (32-54), and was one of two games in which the team went over 50% from three (8-15).
 
With a win, Siena would advance to the MAAC Semifinals to play second-seeded Quinnipiac at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. 
 
Geoff Brault, Dianne Nolan, and Edona Thaqi will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will be courtside as always for the local broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, international stream, live stats, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.