News & notes

 What is Jim Jabir doing at Siena? Trying to be Urban Meyer without the drama?

Meyer, in his first gig as an NFL coach, lost his first few games before Jacksonville finally picked up a win. Jabir, on his second tour of duty at Siena with the Lady Saints, is 0-8 after Siena was throttled by UAlbany, 64-44, costing the Lady Saints the Albany Cup, Sunday at SEFCU Arena.

Oh, there was plenty of playing time for the Section II alumni on both teams. For Siena, Valencia Fontanelle-Posson (Guilderland) had 3 points. Ahnieshya Jackson (Albany) was held without a point. On the other side, Grace Heeps (Columbia) delivered a pair of 3-pointers in the 4th quarter to help ice the game, especially after Siena had cut the lead to single digits. Lilly Phillips (Cambridge) had 4 points. Abby Ray (Saratoga) didn't get into the game until there were 2 minutes left, and the game already decided. She didn't score.

It must've been disconcerting, too, for Jabir, seeing his predecessor, Ali Jaques, working the online stream for UAlbany. Jabir was supposed to help turn the program around after back-to-back losing seasons under Jaques, but so far, it hasn't happened.

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We would be remiss if we didn't mention Troy High's win over Colonie in the men's opener on Friday marked the debut of John Killian as the Flying Horses' new head coach. Like his counterpart on the women's team, Ryan Meikle, Killian is playing some underclassmen, and so far, they have delivered. While we don't yet have the result of Saturday night's game at CBA-Dewitt, which went unreported, we have the feeling Troy will be a contender in the Suburban Council's Grey division, and their first divisional test comes tomorrow in the home opener vs. Burnt Hills.