LOUDONVILLE, NY – The pursuit of a second Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship in program history begins Saturday for Siena Women's Basketball. The fifth-seeded Saints will take on fourth-seeded Iona at noon on Saturday, Mar. 7, in the MAAC Quarterfinals at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
 
Emmanuel Berbari, Dominique Patrick, and Dianne Nolan will have the call on ESPN+, while Joe Puccio and Steve Amedio provide the local radio broadcast on WVCR 88.3 FM. Tickets, live stats, and courtside X updates are available via the corresponding links.
 
Siena is set to make its 37th appearance in the MAAC Tournament and enters with a 31-35 all-time record in the event. The Saints have reached the quarterfinal round in 20 of the last 22 seasons and own a 19-14 mark in quarterfinal contests. Siena is 5-7 all-time against the No. 4 seed and 4-6 when entering the tournament as the No. 5 seed. In games played in Atlantic City, the Saints are 4-6.
 
Saturday will mark the 11th MAAC Tournament meeting between Siena and Iona, with the Gaels holding a 6-4 edge in the previous 10 matchups. It will be the seventh time the programs have met in the quarterfinals and just the second time they have squared off in Atlantic City. The most recent neutral-site meeting came on March 10, 2023, when top-seeded Iona edged Siena 67-66 in the semifinals. This also marks the second time Iona enters as the No. 4 seed and Siena as the No. 5 seed in a tournament matchup; the Saints claimed the previous meeting in that seeding scenario with a 71-61 victory on March 6, 2016, in Albany. Iona represents Siena's second-most frequent MAAC Tournament opponent, trailing only Fairfield (15 meetings).
 
Despite being sidelined for the final five games of the regular season, Siena once again boasts the MAAC Rookie of the Year, as Francesca Schiro became the seventh player in program history to earn the honor, doing so as a unanimous selection for the Saints. She also garnered Second Team All-MAAC and unanimous All-Rookie Team recognition. Classmate Kaiya Rain Tucker joined her on the All-Rookie Team heading into the MAAC Championships.
 
Schiro has been one of the league's most dynamic players all season, leading Siena with 17.1 points per game—second in the MAAC—while pacing the conference with seven Rookie of the Week honors. She averaged a MAAC-best 18.5 points in league play, recorded 11 20-point performances, and added 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Tucker anchored the paint throughout her freshman campaign, averaging 8.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game—both among conference leaders—and nearly averaging a double-double in MAAC play (10.2 points, 9.4 rebounds). She tallied a team-high four double-doubles and eight 10-rebound outings.
 
Siena enters the MAAC Championships ranked fourth in the conference in scoring offense at 66.2 points per game and 10th in scoring defense at 65.7 points allowed. The Saints have thrived in two key areas: free throws and rebounding. Siena leads the MAAC with 531 free throw attempts, ranking 98th nationally at 18.3 per game. On the glass, the Green & Gold top the league and rank 32nd nationally at 40.9 rebounds per game, highlighted by a +61 rebounding margin over their final two regular-season contests. In those games, Siena limited Rider to 24 points and Marist to 21—the two lowest opponent totals of the season—while collecting a season-high 56 rebounds against Rider and 50 versus Marist, accounting for two of its six 50-rebound efforts this year.
 
Iona secured the No. 4 seed after posting a 19-11 overall record and a 12-8 mark in MAAC play. The Gaels enter Saturday riding a five-game winning streak and will be playing their first neutral-site game of the season. Led by Second Team All-MAAC selections Isabellah Middleton (14.0 ppg) and Zoey Ward (13.7 ppg), Iona ranks sixth in the conference in scoring offense at 60.3 points per game while sitting third in scoring defense at 59.8 points allowed. Despite shooting 36.4% from the field and 27.5% from three, the Gaels have excelled in protecting the basketball, ranking third in the MAAC with a +2.30 turnover margin—committing 14.0 turnovers per game while forcing 16.3.
 
Saturday marks the 84th all-time meeting between the Saints and Gaels, with Siena holding a 48-35 advantage in the series. The teams split their two regular-season matchups, with Siena earning a 94-80 road win on Jan. 3 before Iona responded with a 61-52 victory on Feb. 19 in Loudonville. The Saints have won four of the last six meetings overall, with those four victories coming by an average margin of 15.8 points—all by double figures.
 
With a win, Siena would advance to the MAAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2023-24 season and face the winner of top-seeded Quinnipiac and No. 8 Manhattan at noon on Sunday, Mar. 8.