Marist women’s basketball fell short to Siena by a score of 81-69 in an offensive clinic by both sides.
By no surprise, Siena’s big three—graduate student guard Ahniysha Jackson, junior guard Teresa Seppala, and senior guard Anajah Brown—once again did the heavy lifting for the Saints.
After putting up 47 points as a trio compared to Marist’s total team score of 46 last time out in Albany, the Siena trio managed to eclipse their last total. Jackson scored 25 points–including five 3-pointers–Seppala scored 18 and Brown scored 15. As a team, the Saints shot 52.8% from the field and went 9-for-16 from beyond the arc for a total of 58 points combined.
Junior center Morgan Lee directed the Red Fox offense with a career-high 26 points, while redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul added 16 points and four 3-point makes herself. Marist shot 49.1% from the field and 8-for-22 themselves, but went 9-for-17 from the free-throw line despite entering tonight as the top free-throw shooting team in the MAAC.
“We shoot free throws every half hour of practice,” said Marist head coach Erin Doughty. “We gotta trust it was a bad night…brush it off and we’ll be better on Saturday.”
The Saints brought high intensity on the defensive end right out of the gate which appeared to fluster the Red Foxes initially, as they committed three turnovers in the first five minutes of action.
Siena started their offense inside the 3-point line, holding a 10-7 lead midway through the first quarter, with those points coming from five different players.
The Red Foxes shot an efficient 54.5% from the field while going 2-for-4 from long range in the first quarter, but were unable to fully maximize on offense having attempted just 11 shots after the opening frame.
Meanwhile, the Saints continued to use their size to their advantage, controlling the paint with junior guard Teresa Seppala and senior guard Anajah Brown. Seppala finished the quarter with seven points and Siena took a 23-15 lead into the second frame despite no made shots from beyond the arc. Siena went 8-for-15 from the field and 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
It took the first 11 minutes of the game before the Saints committed a turnover, that being an offensive foul on freshman guard Peppi Lohko. Siena had just seven giveaways in the first matchup between the two, despite entering the contest having averaged 17.7 turnovers a game this season. The Saints finished with 13 turnovers in the game but had just three in the first half.
“We didn’t have enough ball pressure,” said head coach Erin Doughty. “When a team is shooting 53% and you don’t force them into turnovers, it’s gonna be a tough day.”
Redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul provided a big spark in the early going of the second quarter, getting her second and third 3-pointers to fall.
Junior guard Jackie Piddock also delivered a 3-pointer and Tarul picked up a steal to give the Red Foxes a fast break and cap off a quick 11-2 run.
The Saints had an answer though, going to freshman guard Syriah Price and Seppala for a pair of layups. Seppala then drained one from beyond the arc, piecing together a quick 7-0 burst to put Siena back in front 36-26.
Marist and Siena went back-and-forth after this, as Piddock started the offensive exchange by knocking down her second 3-pointer of the game. Graduate student guard Ahnishiya Jackson got herself into double-figures with a 3-pointer, but Tarul did the same with a smooth stepback midrange jumper. Lee put a layup home to cut the lead to four with five seconds to go in the half, but freshman guard Myriam Traore wasted no time with a response, knocking down a long 3-pointer to give the Saints a 42-35 lead at the half.
Both sides put on an offensive display in the second quarter, as Marist went 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc while limiting themselves to two turnovers. Siena shot 7-for-13 from the field but flipped their offensive attack in the back half of the quarter, going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second frame.
At the end of the first half, both teams each had six players shooting 50% or better from the field.
Siena’s offensive firepower stayed wide awake out of the half, as they delivered a 9-0 run in the first 1:36 of the second half. Lohko delivered five points in the burst and forced head coach Erin Doughty to call a timeout.
Jackson capitalized on this with her third 3-pointer of the game to give Siena a 57-42 advantage. The guard knocked down her fourth triple shortly after, marking her 200th collegiate 3-pointer. Jackson is now one of only three Siena players in program history to reach such a milestone.
“She was definitely starting to feel it in the second half,” said Doughty. “She’s so dangerous coming off the ball screen and she made us pay by hitting jumpers, as well as hitting Brown and Seppala on rolls.”
The Red Foxes once again shot an effective percentage in the quarter, going 66.7% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. However, they once again had limited shot opportunities, delivering just nine field goal attempts to the Saints 14. Marist did not threaten the Saints dynamic plan of attack in the fourth quarter.
The Red Foxes now set themselves up for a critical matchup against Merrimack this Saturday, Feb. 15, at 4 p.m. The game will take place at McCann Arena for the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Awareness game.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Photo from Marist Athletics
Graphic by Quinn Difiore
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