By Ben Dias, QBSN Staff Writer
After overpowering Sacred Heart Monday night, behind Felicia Barron’s (Springfield, Mass.) career-high 26 points and sophomore Brittany McQuain’s (Independence, Mo.) nine points and 11 rebounds, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team followed a similar blueprint, routing Wagner College (2-18, 1-8 NEC), 77-60 for its fifth consecutive win.
Quinnipiac (15-5, 7-2 NEC) extends its lead in the all-time series to 21-6. The Bobcats have won 16 of their last 17 games against Wagner, with their only loss in that span a 72-58 defeat on Jan. 28, 2010.
This afternoon, the Bobcats were led by three starters with double figures scoring, combining for 42 points. Junior guard, Barron led all teams with 17 points, on five-of-12 shooting including two-of-five from three-point range. Senior sharpshooter, Kari Goodchild (Van Horne, Iowa) chipped in with 15 points, connecting on three-of-six shots from beyond the arc.
McQuain recorded her ninth double-double of the season, posting 10 points to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Bobcats aggressive defense forced Wagner to commit 15 first half turnovers and 24 for the game. Quinnipiac also limited Wagner’s dribble drive offense, as the Bobcats posted 14 steals with 10 coming in the first 20 minutes of action. The Bobcats recorded 21 points off of 24 Wagner turnovers.
“Defense needs to be our identity and really set the tone for what we do on the offensive end,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We’re really opportunistic on defense when we have Felicia [Barron] getting the steals and getting easy buckets. Kari [Goodchild] really provided the separation in the second half making the threes.”
Quinnipiac came out clicking on all cylinders, as the Bobcats raced out to an 8-0 run in the first two minutes after the Seahawks committed four consecutive turnovers off of four Bobcat steals. Barron had two steals in the opening two minutes and raced down the court for uncontested layups each time. She continues to lead the Bobcats on the defensive end, swiping four steals in today’s action. She currently remains to be the nation’s leader in steals with 4.7 per game.
“I know defense is our key for us to win games,” Barron said. “When I pressure the ball, it’s harder for the other team to run their plays.
Kelly Clark led Wagner with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Stephanie Blais and Jacqui Thompson added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
After Wagner called a timeout after the 8-0 spurt by the Bobcats, Wagner’s Laura Amorosa sank two free-throws to cut the lead to 8-2. Once Quinnipiac missed a tough shot, the Seahawks found Blais for a corner three. This cut the lead to 8-5 and the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 17-5 with just over 12 minutes left in the opening half.
Over the course of the first half, Quinnipiac would increase the lead to 29-17 at the 4:55 mark as Barron netted a three pointer near the top of the key. The Bobcats would lead by as many as 14 points in the first 20 minutes as freshman Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) buried a three pointer from the left wing as time expired to extend the lead to 14 points at 38-24.
The Bobcats extended their lead in the first three minutes of the second half once Goodchild hit back-to-back threes to spark a 20-0 run, bringing the lead to 48-28. Quinnipiac led by as many as 29 points, when McQuain sank two free throws with less than ten minutes left to play.
Wagner answered with 13 unanswered points over the next five minutes to narrow the gap, 69-52, and 17 points would be as close as Wagner would get.
Quinnipiac outscored Wagner by an astounding 22-2 in points in the paint and 27-2 in bench points. Martin led all Bobcats scorers with seven points off the bench.
The Bobcats return to the court when they host Mount St. Mary’s on Monday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at Lender Court at the TD Bank Sports Center.
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