Bobcats continue to impress, clinch playoff spot

Bobcats continue to impress, clinch playoff spot

By Ben Dias, QBSN Staff Writer

The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team is on a roll. The Bobcats (19-6, 11-3 NEC) won their ninth out of 10 games, clinching a playoff spot for NEC tournament with only Sacred Heart the only other team locking up a playoff berth so far. The Bobcats defeated inter-state rival Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, 58-49 Wednesday night, three days after defeating CCSU 64-59 on the road on Sunday.

The Bobcats were led by three players in double figures as freshman Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) scored 15 points of Quinnipiac’s 27 points off the bench on five-of-nine shooting to go along with three rebounds and an assist. 

“That has been our success all season long and we are not going away from it,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “That’s just so important, our depth has been extremely productive.”

Junior Felicia Barron (Springfield, Mass.) scored 12 points despite shooting five-of-13 from the field and sophomore Brittany McQuain nearly had a double-double controlling the paint for Quinnipiac, adding nine points to go along with 12 rebounds.  

“Her presence for us [McQuain], has made us a really good team this year gotten us to 19 wins. When she is determined to go after the ball which she does all the time, she’s really a playmaker for us in terms of our guards don’t have to worry about missing shots because they know we have a great rebounding presence down low in Brittany and then also just down on the defensive end. She moves so well, agile and strong that just her presence on the backboard makes us really strong and really tough to beat.” 

The Bobcats also shot 43 percent from the floor. 

 

The first 10 minutes was pretty evenly matched. Both teams were playing strong defense but some sloppy plays here and there contributed to a low scoring first half. With just under 10 minutes to play, the Bobcats were down 16-12 to the Blue Devils. Quinnipiac called a timeout and eventually went on an 18-6 run closed out by two free throws from freshman forward Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, N.J.) The Bobcats led 30-22 at halftime. 

Martin led the way in the opening half, scoring nine points and notching three rebounds. McQuain had six points and six rebounds, helping QU to a 12-4 advantage in the paint. 

Quinnipiac held the Blue Devils (11-14, 5-9 NEC) to 35 percent for the game. 

“We pride ourselves on defense,” Fabbri said. “If there is one thing you can control it’s defense and your intensity.” 

 The Blue Devils were led by guard Jaclyn Babe who had seven points and center Kirsten Daamen scored six points in the first half. 

Opening the second half, the Bobcats kept the lead to 10 points before CCSU caught the deficit to five points at 40-35 with 10-minutes and 31-seconds to play on two free throws by Kaley Watras. After a missed layup by McQuain at the offensive end, the Blue Devils were only down three when Jaclyn Babe hit a jumper a minute later. The Bobcats soon got their offense going and played stellar defense down the stretch going on an 18-10 run to close out the game. 

The Bobcats outscored the Blue Devils in the paint 30-22 and scored 11 second-chance points.

The Blue Devils were led by Babe who scored 15 points on seven-of-21 shooting and one-of-five from beyond the arc. Daamen and Lauren Arbogast each added eight points.

Quinnipiac returns to the hardwood when they travel to New York to visit NEC foe LIU-Brooklyn on Sat. at 2 p.m. 

“We played a really good game for 40 minutes and that’s what you want to be doing this time of year.”