Siena women survive and advance with four players
The Siena women's basketball team was already shorthanded before it tipped off its MAAC tournament opener Thursday, with nine available players for its first-round matchup with Rider.
Little did the Saints know that by the time the game was over, they wouldn't have enough bodies to field a full lineup -- not that it stopped them from winning.
With 14.9 seconds left in overtime and Siena leading 75-71, junior forward Megan Donohue became the fifth Siena player to foul out, joining fellow starters Symone Kelly, Denisha Petty-Evans and Kollyns Scarbrough and reserve Jackie Benitez on the bench. That left four eligible players -- sophomore Emmanuella Edoka and freshmen Deja Rawls, Joella Gibson and Karolina Severova -- to try to close out the win.
After the Donohue foul, Rider junior guard Robin Perkins made two free throws to cut the Siena advantage to 75-73. Two Severova free throws pushed the lead back to 77-73, but Rider freshman guard Lexi Stover hit a 3 to make it 77-76 with 10 seconds left. Severova then returned to the line and made two more foul shots before a last-second Siena steal ended the game.
"I think the Oscars were last weekend, but we should win an entertainment award because I know we kept everybody on the edge of their seats," Siena head coach Ali Jaques told the Albany Times Union after the win.
"We didn't make the smartest plays at times, but we were gutsy and found a way to win. All I can say about these guys is, you never know when you're going to be called on, and I give Karolina Severova a lot of credit for coming in and being able to knock down free throws."
Severova, a 75 percent free-throw shooter on the season, entered the game averaging 1.6 points in 6 1/2 minutes per game before helping preserve the win.
The Czech Republic native was forced into action because of injuries to junior guard Emia Willingham, who suffered a career-ending ankle injury in August, and defending MAAC rookie of the year Margot Hetzke, who has been out of action since mid-December with a concussion. The team also lost guard Brianna Logan in November when the junior left the program.
Freshman forward Katcia Perryman is also on the Saints roster, however Perryman has been inactive all season and did not dress for Thursday's game.
Fortunately for Siena, it'll be back at full strength -- or as close as it ever gets to it -- when the team returns to the floor Friday for a its quarterfinal game against No. 2 seed Iona.
