This Friday, Quinnipiac suits up in pink for its “Play 4 Kay” breast cancer awareness game against Iona. The Bobcats (20-6, 13-3 MAAC) are nearing the end of the season and need to secure a win against the Gaels (15-10, 10-6 MAAC) if they are to catch Rider for the top spot in the conference come playoff time (who are tied with the Bobcats in the loss column). Quinnipiac was tragically taken down in the conference championship last year and were beaten in their earlier meeting this year 58-44.

Unlike the past couple of years, Quinnipiac has been served a slice of humble pie as they have to compete more to earn that top spot. What has been a dominant basketball program now cannot afford to lose to a tough Iona team at home.

These are the keys for Quinnipiac to get a win Friday and reclaim a share of that top spot:

Keep an eye on Alexis Lewis:

Lewis has been a huge offensive contributor this season for the Gaels and often times the team runs plays through her along the perimeter. She leads the team in scoring with an impressive 16.2 points per game and an efficient 39 percent from beyond the arc. Quinnipiac’s suffocating perimeter defense will certainly hold her from driving to the rim but it will be very important to contest everything she shoots.

Keep shooting threes:

We’ve seen this team go through some shooting cold streaks before but it’s important that it not deter them from continuing to put shots up from outside. Even if you aren’t scoring from outside, it will at least space the floor and open up the paint for others to cut to the basket or to create driving lanes.

Give Jen Fay the green light:

By no means is Fay a shot creator but she leads the team in field goal and three point percentage at 48 and 37.6 respectively. She is a dangerous weapon in transition and coming off screens and either Adily Martucci, or Edel Thornton, whoever is the main ball-handler on Fay’s unit should continue to look for her all game long as a top option.

Don’t be afraid to stray from the gold rush:

We all know Tricia Fabbri’s love and success this season with the gold rush rotation scheme that is made up of two teams of five that rotate in and out for each other. This has obviously worked very well with keeping her team rested, however in a few instances this season we have seen matchup problems occur with certain rotations of players against a certain lineup on the opposing team. She did abandon it in their February 4 win over Monmouth. It should be interesting to see if coach Fabbri sticks with the gold rush or goes with a more traditional rotation system but if she does stick with the gold rush, she shouldn’t hesitate to mix things up.