The Quinnipiac Bobcats currently sit atop the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference standings after beating the Rider Broncos by over 20 points. The win, Quinnipiac’s ninth of the season, gave the team sole possession of first place in the conference.
Quinnipiac’s victory against Rider was much needed. Quinnipiac was coming off its first loss of the season and a Rider win would tie it with Quinnipiac for first place in the standings. Quinnipiac dominated all facets of the game showing that the Monmouth loss was the exception, not the rule.
Next up for the Bobcats are the Niagara Purple Eagles, who are separated in the standings by seven wins and eight teams.
Niagara enters having lost its last nine of ten, with its sole victory coming against Manhattan (who is also 2-8).
Since joining the MAAC in 2013, Quinnipiac has never lost to Niagara and the safe bet is they won’t get its first victory on Thursday night. Quinnipiac leads the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense and scoring margin, while Niagara doesn’t even stand in the top five in any of those categories.
In order for Niagara to have a shot at winning they will need to slow down the Bobcats highflying offense. The task will not be an easy one, as Quinnipiac has scored over 75 points in two of their last three victories.
Quinnipiac also has seven players who have scored at least 100 points on the season. Niagara only has four players, meaning one starter hasn’t even scored 100 points and they don’t have the depth to stop Quinnipiac’s ability to sub in five players while subbing five out.
The Bobcats toughest task will be containing the Purple Eagle’s redshirt junior forward Victoria Rampado. Rampado has 310 points through 19 games and is the top scorer for the Eagle’s. If they are going to have a shot to win the game, it will come from her elite play.
After Quinnipiac likely takes care of business against Niagara, it will go on the road to face Iona and Fairfield, two teams that currently have six victories each. The matchup against Iona will be their first since losing to them in the MAAC championship.
Quinnipiac looks to continue its quest for another MAAC championship Thursday night at Lender Court.
