LOUDONVILLE, NY — The latest chapter of the I-87 Rivalry will be written Thursday night as Siena Women's Basketball heads south to McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie, NY, for a 6 p.m. matchup with the Marist Red Foxes.
 
Thursday's matchup pits Siena's disruptive defense against Marist's ball security. The Saints rank 32nd nationally by forcing 21.2 turnovers per game, while the Red Foxes are top-five in the MAAC in protecting the ball, averaging just 16.2 turnovers per contest. Siena has earned four wins this season when winning the turnover battle.
 
Defensively, Marist is allowing nearly 70 points per game, a threshold Siena has reached in seven games this season, going 6–1 when doing so.
 
Siena enters the rivalry contest led by three more double-digit scoring performances out of standout freshman Francesca Schiro. Schiro continues to set the standard among conference newcomers, earning her league-high fourth Air Force Reserve Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honor on Tuesday. With four weekly awards, Schiro now owns twice as many Rookie of the Week honors as any other player in the MAAC. During the three-game week, she posted her sixth 20-point performance of the season and extended her team-leading double-digit scoring streak to 14 games, the longest by a Siena player this year.
 
Picked fourth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Marist has opened conference play at 3-6 and carries a 6-13 overall record into Thursday's meeting. The Red Foxes are led by a pair of Preseason All-MAAC selections in graduate student Lexie Tarul (12.0 PPG)-who is also a one-time MAAC Co-Player of the Week this year-and sophomore Danielle Williamsen (9.7 PPG). Freshman Justine Henry has also made an immediate impact, ranking second on the team and 15th in the MAAC at 11.5 points per game. While Marist has struggled from the field, the Red Foxes offset those challenges by getting to the free-throw line at a high rate, ranking second in the league in free-throw percentage (77.6%).
 
Despite Marist holding a narrow advantage in the all-time series, Siena has seized control of the rivalry in recent years. The Saints have won eight straight meetings against the Red Foxes, their longest active winning streak versus any MAAC opponent, and have not dropped a contest in the series since the MAAC Tournament on March 10, 2021.
 
Thursday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with Geoff Brault and Phil Stern on the call. Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio will handle the radio broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, live stats, and courtside X updates are available through the corresponding links.
 
Following the matchup, Siena will enjoy a week off before returning home to host Niagara at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29, for the program's 25th annual Pink Zone game.