Women's College Basketball
2010 Citizens Bank Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships-Opening Round
#7 Siena College 45, #10 Rider University 25
ALBANY, N.Y.--A pitchers' duel was expected in the Yankees-Phillies baseball game Thursday in Florida. It was not expected during the women's basketball game that was played in Albany.
Rider and Siena combined to set a MAAC tournament record for fewest points in a game combined (70) and by an individual team (Rider) in Siena's 45-25 win in the opening round of the MAAC playoffs.
"Siena did an outstanding job today," said head coach Lynn Milligan. "Congratulations to them on their effort. They played well on the defensive end and held us in check for all 40 minutes."
Marist held Loyola to 27 points in a quarterfinal win last season. This is Rider's lowest point total since scoring 29 against Saint Peter's (72-29) during the 1975-76 season.
The Broncs and Saints combined to miss 85 shots in the game from the field.
Siena (11-17) was led by a 'double-double' from Second Team All-MAAC selection Serena Moore who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Amanda Sepulveda (Perth Amboy/Hun), an All-MAAC Third Team selection and Rider's leading scorer entering play, was held to five points.
"Siena's Centeno (Cristina Centeno) did a nice job defending Amanda," Milligan said.
Freshman Dior Brown (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) opened the second half with three straight points, getting Rider to within 18-14 with 19:07 left in the game. D. Brown finished with three points and a career-high 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of play.
"Siena started pounding the ball inside more in the second half and were keyed by Moore (Serena Moore)," Milligan added. "In the second half especially, I think she did a nice job finishing."
The Saints responded with a 15-2 run and led 33-16 with 12:31 remaining. Junior Cintella Spotwood (Trenton/Trenton Central) hit a two-pointer at the 10:16 mark, breaking a 7:03 Rider drought, only the second field goal for the Broncs of the half. Spotwood finished with two points and three rebounds.
Leading 33-18, Siena went on a 12-3 run, opening up its biggest lead of the game, 45-21 with 2:21 left before sophomore Ali Heller (Boca Raton, Fla./St. Andrews) scored Rider's final four points of the game.
Siena opened play with a 4-0 run and held Rider (4-26, 2-16 MAAC) scoreless for the first 5:11 of play before Sepulveda hit a right wing jumper to get the Broncs on the board.
Sepulveda hit a three-pointer with 12:02 left in the first half to get Rider within three at 8-5.
Siena responded with a 6-0 run, four points by Sarah Fullmer and led 14-5 with 6:53 left in the opening half. Fullmer finished with four points and five rebounds.
Senior Melissa Kowalczyk (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) scored a layup to cut the Saint lead to seven (14-7) 4:25 before halftime.
Each team scored four more points and Siena led 18-11 at the break. Rider held the Saints to 23 percent from the field in the opening period but shot only 17 percent (5-30).
Rider played without MAAC All-Rookie honoree, freshman Caitlin Bopp (Baltimore, Md./Inst. of Notre Dame) who suffered a concussion earlier in the week during practice. Siena held a 24-10 points in the paint advantage.
"Obviously Caitlin is a big part of our offense," Milligan said. "As far as our inside, outside game goes, she is a comfort level for our guards. I don't know if it would have caused a 20-point swing but her presence alone would have allowed us to push the ball inside more. It would have also opened up things more for Amanda."
The Broncs out-rebounded Siena 46-44, including 17-12 on the offensive glass. Rider had six blocks in the game, three from sophomore Sarah Homan (Upper Darby, Pa./Delco Christian).
Also for the Saints, Allie Lindemann had 13 points with Merrick Volbe pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Siena out-shot Rider 31 percent (18-58) to 15 percent (8-55).
"I'm proud of our defensive effort," said Milligan. "Holding Siena to 45 points, our defensive effort and game plan were right on. We just had trouble putting the ball in the basket, it is as simple as that. Our looks were rushed and off balance."
This was the 29th meeting between Rider and Siena with the Saints holding a 25-4 lead. Siena defeated the Broncs in Loudonville 57-43 on January 24 and in Lawrenceville 58-48 in a game televised on ESPNU. The Saints have won six in a row over Rider.
Rider ended the season on a four-game losing streak.
Siena advances to the quarterfinals and will face second seed Iona at 9:30am Friday.
Canisius advanced to the quarterfinals with a 65-57 win over Saint Peter's. The Golden Griffins will meet defending champion Marist College on Friday at 1:30pm. The other two quarterfinal games are #3 Fairfield vs. #6 Loyola at 11:30am and #4 Manhattan vs. #5 Niagara at 3:30pm.
Sepulveda, a 117 game veteran, finished her career with 1,136 points and 278 assists, both 11th best all-time at Rider. "The defensive effort was great," Sepulveda said. "Now the program has to step up and be more consistent on the offensive end of the court."
"Amanda has been a warrior and will leave us with big shoes to fill," said Milligan. "With how hard she worked for us, she deserved more wins in her career. She leaves a legacy of hard work and determination."
Sepulveda and Homan were also named to the MAAC All-Academic team along with sophomore Shannon Ferguson (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin). Sepulveda is an Organizational Leadership major with a 3.90 g.p.a. Ferguson, a two-time All-Academic selection, is Elementary Education/Journalism major with a 3.60 grade point average and Homan is a Biology major with a 3.72 g.p.a.
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