Siena Slips Past Manhattan Into Semifinals
Siena Sports Information
2012 MAAC Women's Basketball Championship Bracket
Springfield, Mass. - For a third straight season, Siena
made history in the MAAC Tournament. And, once again, they were on the right
side of it. The sixth seeded Saints went without a field goal for the final
13:36 and didn't score in the last 8:40 but had just enough to gut out a 34-33
victory over No. 3 seed Manhattan in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament.
Siena (12-16) advances to the MAAC
Semifinals for the second straight year where it will meet No. 2 seed Fairfield
at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Fairfield defeated Iona 61-45 earlier Friday morning
and, in what has become an almost annual tradition, the Saints and Stags will
meet in the MAAC Tournament for the seventh time in the past eight years.
Last season, Siena defeated
Fairfield 36-33 in the MAAC Championships in what was the lowest scoring game
in tournament history. It broke the record of 70 combined points the previous
season in a Siena First Round win over Rider. This year, Siena and Manhattan
(16-15) would shatter that record once more.
Maja Gerlyng knocked down a huge
three from the right wing with 13:36 remaining, giving the Saints a 32-21 lead.
The teams would go scoreless over the next five minutes until Gerlyng sunk a
pair of free throws to give Siena its biggest lead of the game, 34-21, with
8:40 remaining. Siena would not score again, missing its final seven shots and
committing six turnovers.
Manhattan slowly chipped away, going
on a 12-0 run with the last seven points coming from Schyanne Halfkenny.
Halfkenny capped the run with a three to make it 34-33 with 1:46 remaining.
After the teams failed to score
again in a game where points where at a premium, it came down to one final
chance for the Jaspers. With nine seconds remaining Maggie Blair missed a three
from the right wing and in the ensuing scrum to corral the loose ball, Tehresa Coles
came out of the pack with it as Siena exhaled and celebrated.
Siena shot just 25% (12-48) from the field and committed 25 turnovers, while
the Jaspers shot 32.6% (14-43) and turned the ball over 24 times.
In the first half, the teams also
had a combined scoreless drought of 6:47 and neither team made a field goal in
nearly nine minutes as the Saints took a 20-13 lead into the lockerroom.
Clara Sole Anglada and Kanika
Cummings sparked the Saints early. Sole Anglada led the way with 11 points,
seven rebounds and four steals, while Cummings added eight points off the
bench. Lily Grenci, the MAAC's second leading scorer, saw her 19-game streak
of scoring in double figures snapped as she finished with six points and 10
rebounds.
Halfkenny and Lindsey Loutsenhizer
capped their collegiate careers with 10 points apiece for the Jaspers.
Now Siena must rest and prepare for
a quick turnaround tomorrow morning against Fairfield. The Stags swept the
Saints during the regular season and Siena will be looking to make history if
it can win and become the first-ever No. 6 seed on the women's side to advance
to the MAAC Championship game. The game will be broadcast live at 9:30 a.m. on
ESPN3.