Siena women's basketball bested by Binghamton

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Down to the final five seconds of the game, Siena Women’s Basketball had an opportunity to tie or win the game on the last possession of the afternoon. Inbounding from its own sideline, Siena’s rally was denied by the visiting Binghamton Bearcats, who forced a loose ball to wind out the clock to hold off the Saints 64-62 from the UHY Center on Sunday. 

Ahniysha Jackson led the Saints (3-5) with 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the floor, and 4-of-10 from deep. The graduate student also registered five steals - coming up one shy of tying her career high. Teresa Seppala netted 13 points to go with eight boards, three assists and a steal, while Zyriah Price came up one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine boards. 

Yanniah Boyd on Binghamton (6-4) led all scorers with 20 - going 6-9 from the field, 1-1 from three, and 7-8 from the charity stripe. Bella Pucci (15) and Jadyn Weltz (13) also notched double figures.  

Early in the game, Jackson had a two play sequence that set an early tone for the Saints. After a pullup baseline jumper, the graduate student poked the ball loose for a steal on the ensuing defensive possession, getting into the open court and beat everyone down for a guiding lay-in to make it a 9-5 Siena lead with 5:53 remaining. 

However, the Bearcats responded by closing out the quarter on a 9-3 run, including Pucci connecting on a three-pointer toward the top of the key as the clock expired to give Binghamton a 14-12 edge at the end of the first quarter.

Binghamton extended the lead in the second quarter by outscoring Siena by seven points to take a 36-27 advantage in halftime. The sophomore Boyd led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field including 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.  Jackson led the Saints with 10 points and three steals in the first half.

A pair of free throws by Jackson and a turnaround jumper by Teresa Seppala cut the lead to five with 8:53 left in the third quarter.  The Bearcats responded with a 7-0 run with a three-pointer from Pucci and a pair of driving layups from Camryn Fauria to increase the lead to 43-31 with 7:14 left.  

Siena closed the quarter out on a 8-0 run behind three free throws by KB Hadley, a Jackson three-pointer, and a pair of free throws from Price to cut it within 51-50.  The Saints shot 54 percent from the field and made 10-of-11 from the free throw line in the third quarter.

Despite trailing by eight points with under four to play, Siena refused to go away quietly. Back-to-back layups by Price cut the deficit to four points and, following a pair of stops on the other end of the floor, Aniya Hooker buried a three to make it a one point game with eight seconds to go. 

The Saints fouled to extend the game, and did so successfully. Weltz missed the front end before cashing in on her second attempt, giving Siena one last chance with five seconds to go. 

With Hooker responsible for the inbound, the ball found its way inside the paint to Price - who was met by a Binghamton double team that knocked the ball away to run the clock out. 

Siena opens Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play this upcoming week with a pair of home games against Western New York foes Niagara at 6 p.m. on Thur., Dec. 19, and Canisius at 2 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 21. Tickets for both games can be purchased through sienasaints.com/wbbtickets.