Siena battles, but can’t overcome rough first quarter falling to Marist 60-44 in weekend sweep
LOUDONVILLE, NY >> The Siena women’s basketball team found themselves in a bit of a hole on Sunday afternoon after the first quarter against Marist.
Lala Watts hit a jumper to tie the game at 2-2 inside the first minute. After that, the Saints were held scoreless for the remainder of the period, while Marist went on an 18-0 run.
“You can’t spot Marist a lead and expect to win. They execute too well, they’re too well coached and they’re really good shooters,” said Siena Head Coach Ali Jaques. “The first quarter was the problem for us.”
The final score ended up favoring Marist 60-44, but the Saints made it interesting in the second and third
quarters.
Siena’s offense came alive in the second, cutting away at their deficit with an 1814 quarter. In the third, they trailed by as few as six points after Ashley Williamson hit a three with just over four minutes to go in the period.
“It would have been really easy for us to take the first quarter and not be able to respond,” Jaques said. “I’m happy with the way we responded. I thought we did a better job on the glass today. We defended the highpost better today and we had some different people make some shots.”
Siena was without their leading scorer, Isis Young, and Sevval Istanbulluoglu due to COVID-19 protocols. Each missed both games of the Saturday-Sunday series against Marist, although they both played in the February 3 game at Monmouth where Siena had only six players available.
“When a big piece of your offense isn’t available, you have to reallocate those opportunities. I thought we did a good job of getting the ball to Lala. That was something we really talked about.”
Jaques also challenged sophomore Ashley Williamson to step up, which she did.
“I was pretty hard on Ashley because she can really shoot the ball. I’m really proud of how she responded because I really challenged her today and she showed a lot of toughness.”
Williamson, who floated in a buzzer-beater to end the game, was the leading scorer with 15 points, going three-for-five from deep. Watts wasn’t far behind, scoring 13 points. Margo Peterson added eight for the Saints.
Sarah Barcello led the Red Foxes with 14 points. Willow Duffell had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The difference in the game, outside of the first quarter, was second chance points, which Marist won 16-1.
Marist outscored Siena 17-11 in the fourth quarter, with Kendall Krick and Barcello hitting some threes late that took the Saints out of the game.
“We spent a lot of energy getting back in the game. I don’t think the score at the end is an indication of the game. They hit a couple threes at the end that gave them some separation, but I was really proud of our kids and how they came into the second half and crawled back into it,” Jaques said. “Overall I think we got better and our players got better at the things we asked them to get better at.”
After having just one partial practice in twentyfive days, playing a team that hasn’t had a positive COVID-19 test or shutdown all season can be challenging. With the sweep of Siena, Marist improves to 14-2 on the season and has won eight straight contest against Siena dating back to February 3, 2018.
With the loss in both games this weekend, the Saints fall to 2-5. Marist won the Saturday matchup 69-44. Siena hopes to play Quinnipiac on Wednesday at 1 p.m., though they aren’t taking anything for granted.
Young and Istanbulluoglu are scheduled to end their COVID protocols on Sunday night, meaning that if everything goes will with the team doctors, they would be eligible to return for the mid-week game.