Women's Basketball

2025 MAAC Women’s Basketball Championship Day Three Recap Presented by Bally’s Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Mar. 13, 2025) – Quarterfinal action at the 2025 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Women’s Basketball Championship at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall resumed on Thursday afternoon with the final two games of the round. No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s University survived a historic comeback attempt from No. 5 Marist University and No. 6 Merrimack College pulled off the first upset in the tournament by knocking off No. 3 Siena College.
 
No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s – 68 | No. 5 Marist – 65
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
A game that seemed all but wrapped up late in the third quarter, ending up almost resulting in the third-largest comeback in MAAC tournament history. Through 10 minutes, Marist held a 14-12 lead, which grew to a seven-point advantage (19-12), with 8:04 left in the half. The Mountaineers dominated from that point on, going on an imposing, 24-4 rally to close out the half and take a 36-23 lead into the locker room. The Mount kept their foot on the pedal to start the third, outscoring the Red Foxes, 18-4 through the first six minutes of the quarter. The second run extended the lead for Mount St. Mary’s to a commanding 27-point margin, with less than 14 minutes remaining in the game. Marist’s attempt at history commenced from there, finishing the frame on a 10-5 spurt. Trailing by 22 to start the fourth, the Red Foxes chipped away at the lead, hitting four threes and using a stingy defense that forced four turnovers over a span of seven and a half minutes to pull within single digits (63-56). With just under one minute to go, Marist’s Jackie Piddock hit one from beyond the arc, cutting the deficit that was once 27 all the way down to a single point (66-65) with .40 ticks on the clock. Despite the valiant effort by the Red Foxes, a last second mid-range jumper with .8 to play just missed the mark, ending their shot at the historic rally.
 
Mount St. Mary’s Notes and Notables
  • Four Mountaineers surpassed double digit scoring.
  • The quartet included Jo Raflo, Anna LeMaster, Gabrielle Kennerly, and Jaedyn Jamison.
  • Raflo scored a team-high 18 points, making 4-of-9 trifectas and also grabbing five rebounds.
  • LeMaster scored 14 points, with a pair of rebounds and a couple of steals.
  • Going a perfect 4-for-4 at the line was Kennerly, who totaled 13 points.
  • Recording her first career double-double and the final Mountaineer in double figures was Jamison, who scored 10 points with 11 rebounds.
  • The Mount held edges in points in the paint (16-12) and fast break points (7-5).
  • Mount St. Mary’s controlled the lead for 24:25.
  • Although they only led for just over half the meeting, the Mount dominated quarters two and three, outscoring the Red Foxes 47-23 over the two periods.
  • The Mount, which has only been a member of the MAAC for three seasons, advances to the semifinals for the first time in program history.
  • Mount St. Mary’s has a date with No. 1 Fairfield in tomorrow’s semis at 12:00 p.m.
 
Marist Notes and Notables
  • Scoring a game-high was Danielle Williamsen (22 points).
  • The team’s next highest scorer was Ciara Cooper, who scored nine points and had seven rebounds, three assists.
  • Morgan Lee grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
  • Piddock was Marist’s top distributer, handing out seven assists, while also collecting three steals and five rebounds.
  • Marist won the battle on the glass (40-33), scored more points off turnovers (20-19), and had a better bench production (11-9).
 
No. 6 Merrimack – 79 | No. 3 Siena – 72
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall | ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Box Score (XML)
Box Score (PDF)
 
The lone upset in the postseason thus far, Merrimack never trailed Siena in a 79-72 wire-to-wire victory. From the opening tip, the Warriors controlled the game, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and 12-2 edge, never looking back. Siena would cut the contest to two points early in the second, but Merrimack pushed the lead back to six by the half and by no-less than eight until there was only one minute to play.
 
Merrimack Notes and Notables
  • Merrimack held the lead for all but 30 seconds (39:30) and the game was never tied at any point after the opening tip.
  • Thalia Shepard poured in a game-high 27 points in the winning effort.
  • She also had seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
  • Rose Caso recorded her season’s first double-double, logging 14 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Lydia Melashenko added 13 points, two assists.
  • Paloma Garcia was the final of the four in double figures, ending the game with 10 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
  • The Warriors defense converted 15 forced turnovers into 21 points.
  • Merrimack won the board, outgaining Siena 36-23 in rebounds.
  • They also earned advantages in second chance points (18-10).
  • Merrimack earns its first ever MAAC postseason win and moves into the semifinals for the first time.
  • The Warriors will meet No. 2 Quinnipiac tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in the final four.
 
Siena Notes and Notables
  • Five Saints scored all 72 of Siena’s points in the contest.
  • Ahniysha Jackson scored a team-high 26 points and also had three assists.
  • Teressa Seppala scored 22 points, snagged five rebounds, while giving out two assists and forcing a pair of steals.
  • The last Saint in double figures was Anajah Brown, who scored 12 points and collected a team-most eight rebounds.
  • Siena scored 26 points in the paint, had six fast break points and its bench contributed eight points.
 
For all information regarding the 2025 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 13 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 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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