LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Siena Women’s Basketball’s return home for the only two home contests of a stretch of nine games from Nov. 22 – Dec. 29 proved to be successful at the UHY Center on Saturday afternoon. The Saints (4-4) withstood a late run from non-conference foe Dartmouth (1-6) to collect a 75-69 victory and win their second game in their last three outings.
Competing head-to-head for the first time since 2006, The Saints and the Big Green battled in the early minutes of action, with Dartmouth scoring the first five points of the game, but the Saints roaring back to take a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Thanks largely in part to a career-high five three-point shots from sophomore Valencia Fontenelle-Posson in the first half, the Saints held a 14-point halftime advantage, while posting their highest point total in a quarter (25, second quarter) and half (42) thus far this season.
The Big Green battled back with a 12-3 run beginning early in the third quarter and proceeded to trim what was a one-point a 16-point Siena advantage at 44-28 to just a one-point lead, 57-56, with 5:55 remaining in the game. Dartmouth stayed within six for the next two minutes, but a clutch three-point bucket from junior Ahniysha Jackson gave the Green and Gold enough space to outlast the late comeback attempt. Freshman Elisa Mevius recorded the game’s final ten points during the final minute of play by way of six trips to the free throw line.
Fontenelle-Posson contributed half of the Saints’ season-high ten makes from beyond the arc to finish with 16 points and four rebounds, while Mevius led all scorers in the game with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals while going 10-12 from the charity stripe. Jackson joined the pair in double-figures with 12 points and a trio of threes while freshman Teresa Seppala just missed out on a double-double with nine points and ten boards.
Siena shot 39 percent from the field while limiting Dartmouth to 35.9 percent, with Victoria Page and Mia Curtis each netting 15 points to highlight four players in double-figures for the Big Green. The Saints also forced 18 turnovers and held a 42-41 rebound advantage while eclipsing the 70-point margin for the fourth time this season and tying a season-best with 17 assists dished out.
As a result of the win, Siena is off to a both 4-4 overall start and a 3-2 start at home for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. The Saints will conclude home action for the calendar year on Monday, December 5 against Binghamton at 7 PM at the UHY Center.