MAAC Women’s Basketball First Round Recap

Here is a recap of the first round games of the women’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. All games are played at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. Three games tipped off with no. 10 Iona, no. 6 Manhattan and no. 9 Fairfield advancing to the Quarterfinals.

No. 7 Siena Saints vs. No. 10 Iona Gales

Despite turning the ball over 16 times in the first half, the Iona Gales hung on to defeat Siena 75-64 on its home floor of the TImes Union Center, the host site of the MAAC tournament. The Gales’ defense held the Saints to seven points in the second half on 3-of-14 shooting. They put up 20 points on Siena in that quarter and saw 12 points come from long range. Credit the Saints, they pulled to within four points at the end of the third quarter and trailed 49-45 after being down 36-28 at halftime. Juana Camilion led all scorers with 26 points for Iona and had nine boards. Deja Rawls scored 17 points for Siena. Iona will dance with no. 2 Rider in the Quarterfinals on March 8 at 3:30 pm. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.

No. 6 Manhattan Jaspers vs. No. 11 Saint Peter’s Peacocks

Manhattan scored a huge 22-point victory over Saint Peters on March 7, 62-41. Manhattan was scoreless through the final 1:43 while Saint Peter’s produced a 6-0 run. Manhattan’s Courtney Warley led all scored 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting. She added nine rebounds and three assists to her stat line. She scored eight points in the second half and shot 4-for-5 from the field. Manhattan limited Saint Peter’s to score single digits in the second and fourth quarters. Tyara McQueen led Saint Peter’s with eight points off the bench. She was 2-for-3 from long range. The Jaspers will play no. 3 Marist in the Quarterfinals on March 9, at noon on ESPN3.

No. 8 Niagara Purple Eagles vs. No. 9 Fairfield Stags

A three point game with 11.6 seconds left saw the Fairfield Stags fought a strong Niagara comeback to defeat the Purple Eagles 74-69. The Stags were led by Lou Lopez-Senechal who finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Casey Foley scored 12 of her 17 points in the first half. Foley finished with a near triple double as she grabbed eight boards and dished out as many assists. Jai Moore led the Purple Eagles with 25 points. Niagara’s defense stripped eight balls and produced 17 points off 18 Fairfield turnovers. The win sets up a date with No. 1 Quinnipiac on March 8, at 1:00 pm on ESPN3.