ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — With her team trailing by 10 points in the third quarter, Siena guard Valencia Fontenelle-Posson of Guilderland envisioned the premature end of her sophomore season and another long Friday morning bus ride back to Loudonville
She didn’t like the prospect. She and her teammates did something about it.
The fourth-seeded Saints rallied and held defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Fairfield scoreless for the final 3:48 of Thursday’s 59-53 quarterfinal victory at Boardwalk Hall.
“I actually just thought of last year, going home and, like, that feeling,” Fontenelle-Posson (10 points) said. “I really fed off that feeling, the loss that we had and I just don’t want to feel that feeling again and I’ll do anything not to feel that feeling.”
Fontenelle-Posson was referring to last year’s 60-59 loss to Niagara, another Thursday No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal which the Saints lost on a Niagara shot in the final 10 seconds.
The Saints lost six seniors from that team and headed into this year’s MAAC Tournament with three sophomores and seven freshmen. But Siena (19-12) didn’t show its inexperience down the stretch. The Saints shot 8-for-16 in the final quarter and committed just two turnovers.
“We struggled at the beginning and then we stood up and we kept the energy high,” said freshman guard Elisa Mevius, who had nine points and five assists, one day after being named MAAC Rookie of the Year.
Siena, which swept all three meetings with Fairfield, moves on to its first semifinal since 2018. The Saints will play at 11 a.m. Friday against top-seeded Iona, which swept Siena during the regular season with MAAC Player of the Year Juana Camilion.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Iona,” Siena coach Jim Jabir said. “They’re really balanced. Juana’s a great…
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