By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Staff Writer
At 17-2 (8-0 NEC), the Quinnipiac Bobcats have now set the mark for best start in program history with an 82-73 win over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (11-8, 5-3 NEC).
The Blue Devils rallied from behind to catch the Bobcats multiple times but Quinnipiac was able to pull away in the end and hold on for the victory to extend its winning streak to nine games.
“We were in a game today. We haven’t seen one in a little while. It was nice to get tested; it was nice to see how resilient we were,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said.
Senior Felicia Barron (Springfield, Mass.) led the Bobcats offensively with 25 points on 10-19 shooting en route to the victory, including 16 points scored in the second half.
It wasn’t the offense that proved to be the difference for the Bobcats, but the rebounding.
“We hadn’t been rebounding the ball…as strongly as we had last year, so we really spoke about that this weekend. If we don’t outrebound them, we don’t win tonight,” Fabbri said.
The Bobcats had 48 rebounds compared to 43 for CCSU, including a 19-12 advantage on the offensive boards. Gillian “Boo” Abshire (Washington, D.C.) and Nikoline Ostergaard (Vedbaek, Denmark) each recorded double digit rebound figures.
Ostergaard finished with seven points, five rebounds and 10 rebounds while Abshire finished with six points, five rebounds and 11 rebounds.
“She does everything right in order for us to win and it doesn’t ever show up in points or anything flashy, tonight it was in rebounds,” Fabbri said about Abshire.
The Bobcat bench really came through and provided the added advantage, outscoring the Central bench 29-8. Senior Lisa Lebak (Robbinsville, N.J.) chipped in a season high seven points along with four assists.
Quinnipiac held a 33-28 advantage at halftime before CCSU went on an 8-2 run to open up the half to put them up 36-35 before Fabbri called a timeout for the Bobcats.
Throughout the remainder of the second half, the Bobcats and Blue Devils exchanged runs that would bring the Blue Devils close before the Bobcats would pull away again.
“I think Central and us are very similar. I’ve been saying that all year long that I think Central’s going to be tough to beat, and tonight was a great 40-minute game,” Fabbri said.
Despite the loss, Jaclyn Babe scored a game-high 30 points for CCSU along with seven rebounds and five assists. Babe’s performance was inspired by the thought of handing Quinnipiac its first conference loss.
“I was really motivated to play them, I really wanted to be the first team to knock them off and give them the loss,” Babe said.
Jessica Babe posted a double-double for the Blue Devils, including 11 points and 12 rebounds, along with five assists.
CCSU outshot Quinnipiac from the field 41.4 percent to 39.7 percent despite both teams making 29 field goals. The Blue Devils however, are looking forward to the next contest in less than two weeks.
“Like [Fabbri] said, you have to take care of home court, and we tried to beat them on the road. Now they’re going to come to our gym, and we’re going to try to do the same thing to them when they come to us,” Piper said.
Quinnipiac was able to control the home floor, improving its record to 8-0 at Lender Court on the season. Despite being off to the best start in program history, the Bobcats are still focused on keeping up their pace.
“We’re on a mission; we’re having a really successful season. We’re at 17 wins, we’re undefeated, but guess what? We haven’t won anything yet,” Fabbri said.
