Siena Basketball legends Paul Hewitt and Mary (Gaudreau) Messer ’83 have been named to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Hall of Fame Honor Roll Class of 2016. The duo will be enshrined in “The MAAC Experience” exhibit at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in a special ceremony on October 15th in Springfield, Massachusetts. Hewitt amassed a stellar 66-27 record during three memorable seasons guiding Siena (1997-00), highlighted by the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship and second NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999. Hewitt’s .709 overall winning percentage is the highest amongst any Siena Basketball coach during the Division I era, and second overall trailing only Jack Carroll (8-2, .800) who served as the program’s first head coach during the inaugural 1938-39 season..“It’s a great honor and I couldn’t be more happy or thrilled,” said Hewitt on being named to the MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll. “Siena is a very special place for me and my family. It was my first head coaching job, and the people there treated us with so much respect and we appreciated all that they did.”After guiding Siena to an eight-win improvement and a 17-12 mark during his first season, Hewitt piloted the Saints to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship in 1998-99. Named Siena’s first-ever MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, he steered the Saints to an 82-67 triumph over Saint Peter’s on Mar. 1, 1999 at Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo for the program’s first MAAC Tournament Championship. Siena was rewarded with the No. 13 seed in the West Regional of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, where the Saints fell to fourth seeded Arkansas, 94-80 in Denver.Hewitt led Siena to a second straight 20-win year in his final season with the program in 1999-00. The Saints finished with a 24-9 mark and captured the MAAC Regular Season Championship outright with a 15-3 league record. Siena capped the Hewitt era by advancing to the second round of the NIT, punctuated by a victory over UMass. Hewitt has totaled 321 wins overall in 18 seasons as a head coach at three Division I institutions, leading his programs to nine national postseason tournament appearances including six trips to the NCAA Tournament.

The former Mary Gaudreau, Messer starred for the Siena Women’s Basketball program from 1979-83. She is Siena’s all-time leading scorer with 2,084 points in addition to also holding the program’s all-time record for field goals made (891) and ranks second in steals (281).Messer also boasts Siena’s single-game scoring record with 41 points in a 102-64 win over Molloy on Feb. 20, 1981. She averaged 18.4 points during her brilliant 113-game career, including at least 17.7 points per game during each of her four seasons. Messer was named the New York State AIAW Division II Player of the Year after guiding Siena to the NYSAIAW Championship in 1982. Siena amassed 84 victories during her prolific career, winning 20 or more games in each season.Originally from North Adams, Massachusetts, Messer was a two-time First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. She graduated from Siena College in 1983 with her degree in accounting. Messer was inducted into Siena’s Hall of Fame in 1988. “It gives me great pleasure to be named to the MAAC Hall of Fame Honor Roll,” said Messer. “I feel honored to join the other great athletes who have received this award.” Every year, each MAAC member institution honors one male and one female from its basketball family as part of the induction class. A dinner event will be on Sat., Oct. 15 at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame to recognize the Honor Roll inductees. Each honoree will also be profiled in the game program for the 2017 MAAC Basketball Championships, in addition to being featured in a video display at "The MAAC Experience."

-Courtesy Siena Athletics

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