Women's Basketball

Siena and Canisius Pick Up Quarterfinal Round Wins in the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Showboat

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 14, 2024) – Day three of the 2024 Hercules Tires Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall continued on Thursday afternoon with the second wave quarterfinal games. No. 3 Siena and No. 5 Canisius earned victories on the day, advancing to Friday’s semifinals.
 
No. 3 Siena – 80 | No. 6 Mount St. Mary’s – 57
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
Siena never trailed in a convincing, 80-57, win over Mount St. Mary’s in the first quarterfinal contest of the day. The Saints closed out the first quarter on a 15-4 run to jump out to a 22-10 lead. Siena never looked back, taking a commanding 39-21 lead into the half, before running away with the blowout win in quarters three and four.
 
Siena Notes and Notables
  • Just six Saints combined for all 80 points in the winning effort, with four scoring in double figures.
  • Siena’s lone senior Ahniysha Jackson went for a game-high 22 points on her 22nd birthday.
  • Teresa Seppala added 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
  • Elisa Mevius, who recorded the MAAC’s only triple-double of the season, had a double-double and near quadruple-double.
  • She ended her afternoon with 12 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and eight steals.
  • The fourth and final Saint in double figures was Alden Yergey who logged 12 points.
  • Defensively, Siena forced the Mount into 22 turnovers, recording 14 steals and converting them into 24 points.
  • In the paint, the Saints outscored the Mount 34-28 and also had a 17-4 fastbreak points differential.
  • Siena’s time with the lead was near-perfect, holding the advantage on the scoreboard for 39:22.
  • The Saints return to the semifinals for the second-straight season, the first time the program has made back-to-back semis since 2011-12 and 2012-13.
  • Siena will meet No. 2 Niagara in the semifinal round, tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. 
Mount St. Mary’s Notes and Notables
  • The Mountaineers were led on the day by Jessica Tomasetti, who scored 17 points, with three assists, and three steals.
  • Jo Raflo added 14 points.
  • Isabella Hunt chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
  • The Mount won the rebounding battle, 41-35, including grabbing 19 on the offensive side of the glass. 
No. 5 Canisius – 58 | No. 4 Manhattan – 55
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
The final game of the quarterfinal round was nothing short of exciting, as Canisius escaped with a 58-55 win over Manhattan. The meeting went back-and-forth, seeing a deadlock 23-23 score at halftime. Canisius would hold a two-point edge after three, and in the fourth, go up by 10-points for its largest lead of the game. The Jaspers would slowly battle back and a late triple with .08 to play would cut their deficit to one point. A pair of free throws would again extend the Griffs lead to three and the Jaspers would miss on a potential game-tying three-pointer to end the game.
 
Canisius Notes and Notables
  • Canisius’ starting five scored every point in the game.
  • The Griffs were led by Sisi Eleko’s 24 point, 11 rebound double-double.
  • Brooklyn Thrash scored 14 points while grabbing eight boards.
  • Athina Lexa also added 14 points in the victory.
  • The other two starters in Mackenzie Amalia and Grace Heeps both pitched in with three points for the team’s total.
  • Canisius dominated the glass (40-27), with 15 coming on the offensive boards.
  • The Griffs turned those 15 second chances into 23 points.
  • Canisius also outscored the Jaspers in the paint, 26-16.
  • Canisius advances to the MAAC semis for the first time since 2009 and are set for a date with top-seed and No. 25 nationally ranked Fairfield tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
Manhattan Notes and Notables
  • All seven Jaspers to play scored in the game.
  • Leading Manhattan was Mitzan Amar with 11 points.
  • Ines Gimenez Monserrat scored 10 points and pulled in six rebounds.
  • Jade Blagrove also added 10 points. 
For all information regarding the 2024 Hercules Tires MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, please visit MAACSports.com/basketball and by following @MAACHoops and #MAACHoops on Twitter.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Threads or visit MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.