WASHINGTON, D.C. - Siena Women's Basketball is set to make its first postseason appearance in 10 years on Friday night. After accepting a bid to the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), the Saints (17-13) travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the Howard Bison (21-11) in the First Round of the WNIT.
The winner will advance to play the College of Charleston in the second round. Date, time, and location are TBA.
First Round action is set for March 20-22, with the Second Round to follow from March 23-25. The Super 16 will be played from March 26-28, and the Great 8 from March 29-31. The Fab 4 will commence from April 1-2, and the Championship will be played on Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
There were 48 teams selected for the 27th annual Postseason WNIT, with the Saints earning one of 11 automatic berths as a team that was the highest regular-season finisher in their conference (MAAC) that did not receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament or WBIT.
First-year head coach
Terry Primm leads the Saints to their first taste of postseason action since the 2014-15 season when the program advanced to the WBIT Championship. This will be the team's fourth appearance in the WNIT and the first since the 2002-03 season. Siena owns a 2-3 all-time record in WNIT games and is 32-26 all-time against the other 47 teams in the field this season.
Siena's season was capped off by 17 victories and the No. 3 seed in the MAAC Tournament for the second consecutive season after winning 14 games in league play. The team enjoyed a seven-game winning streak that lasted throughout February and into the first day of March. Primm's first season at the helm included the production of unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection
Teresa Seppala, had
Ahniysha Jackson earn the highest honor of her career as a Second Team All-MAAC selection, saw
Anajah Brown named to the Third Team for a third consecutive season, and
Myriam Traore pinned an All-Rookie Team honoree.
Howard enters the WNIT coming off a 68-56 loss to top-seeded Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship. The Bison went 21-11 overall this season, and 12-2 in MEAC play to finish second in the conference. Backed by the fourth-leading scorer in the MEAC, Destiny Howell (15.1 PPG), Howard ranked second in the conference netting 65.8 points per contest on 38.6% shooting from the field. The team was also second in the league allowing 60 PPG to opponents. Following conference tournaments, the Bison ranked 34th nationally averaging 40 rebounds per game - 14.2 of which on the offensive glass which ranks 28th in the country.
Siena and Howard will meet for the third time ever come Friday night, with the Saints having won each of the previous two meetings in 2017 and 2018. The most recent meeting came on Nov. 19, 2018, in Washington, D.C., resulting in an 86-81 Siena victory which was fueled by a 12-point fourth-quarter comeback.
Friday's game will stream live on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will be courtside for the local broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, live stats, and courtside X updates can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.
