SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Siena women's basketball team has advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals.

The Saints led the entire second half, downing Fairfield, 52-48, in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. Siena advances to take on No. 2 seed Iona, at 9:30 a.m., on Saturday morning.

The victory marks the first MAAC postseason win for Saints coach Ali Jaques.

“That was a really hard-fought win. We’re happy to be here for another day," she said. 

Senior Lily Grenci led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Kanika Cummings came off the bench to scored 12 points. Cummings scored seven of her team's final 10 points, hitting some huge shots, including a 3-pointer with three minutes to play.

It was close down the stretch, as the Saints (13-17) missed four free throws in the final 1:17, but they hung on for the win.

The Stags (17-13) were led by Brittany Obi-Tabot, who scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, while Alexys Vazquez finished with a team-high 15 points.