The Siena Saints women’s basketball team (19-11, 11-9 MAAC) is fresh off a 71-61 against the Iona Gaels. Senior Tehresa Coles was tasked with guarding the MAAC women’s player of the year in Damika Martinez, and held her to just 12 points on 4-13 shooting, her second lowest total of the year.
“I think Tehresa Coles…is one of the best defensive players that I’ve ever had the chance to coach,” Siena head coach Ali Jaques said. “She’s all heart and guts.”
The All-MAAC Second Team guard has proven herself on both ends of the floor, averaging over 13 points, three assists and five rebounds per game. She was named the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year on Friday after a season where she averaged a league-leading 3.1 steals per game.
Coles played a big role on the defensive end against Iona, and it won’t get any easier for her in Siena’s semifinal game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats (29-3, 20-0 MAAC).
The Bobcats are home to four players that were placed on All-MAAC teams, the Sixth Player of the Year in junior Maria Napolitano, and the Coach of the Year, Tricia Fabbri.
Seniors Gillian Abshire and Nikoline Ostergaard made All-MAAC third team, grad student Val Driscoll made second team, and senior Samantha Guastella made first team. These four are a big part of Quinnipiac’s success not only this season, but in the past as well. They are center of a team with the most depth in the conference, and they consider that to be one of their biggest advantages, if not the biggest.
One of Siena’s keys to victory will be to control Quinnipiac’s depth. In every game this year, at least eight players have scored for the Bobcats, and there have been multiple games in which each of the 15 players on their roster played and scored. Their last matchup against Siena was one of those times.
When these two teams met on Jan. 30, Quinnipiac put their depth on full display. Two Bobcats scored double-digit points, nine different players scored at least five, and all 15 of Fabbri’s players scored at least once during the course of the game. Also, 11 Bobcats played double-digit minutes, without any of them crossing the 20-minute mark.
Jaques is well aware of their depth and speaks highly of the entire team, including head coach Tricia Fabbri.
“They’re undefeated [in conference play] for a reason,” Jaques said. “They’re an offensive machine. Tricia’s done a tremendous job this year, she’s an amazing coach and I’ve known her since I’ve started in the business. I don’t know how you beat Quinnipiac right now, but if you know anybody who does, give them my number.”
While at least eight Bobcats have scored in every game, no more than eight Saints have played in a single game this season. For 29 of their 30 games, the Saints only had seven players at their disposal.
Due to injuries, a redshirt, and NCAA transfer rules; the Saints currently have just seven active players out of their 12-player roster.
But the team sees it as a positive thing, rather than something negative. It has allowed players like Margot Hetzke to mature and improve throughout the season.
Hetzke is a freshman forward that was recently named to the MAAC All-Rookie team. She tallied 20 points and eight boards in her first postseason game against Iona. She also led the team in scoring and rebounding with 14 points and 7.3 boards per game.
Siena has lost their last five semifinal games, and is looking to make their way back to the championship game for the first time since 2003. However, Quinnipiac fell to Marist in last year’s championship game, and the memory is still etched into the back of their heads. They are counting on getting back to the championship game to rid themselves of that image.
The two teams face off Sunday at 11 a.m. in Albany at the Times Union Center.
