The hottest rivalry in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference met again, this time in the conference’s semifinals game.
The Bobcats trailed for three quarters before kicking into high gear in the fourth. As a team Quinnipiac shot 72.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, including going four-for-five from behind the arc. It outscored the Iona by eight and held them to just 26.7 percent from the field.
The spark came when Jen Fay connected on her first 3-pointer of the second half with 2:36 remaining in the third quarter. Fay, who hasn’t been as efficient as she would have liked, was waiting for her shots to fall.
“Oh my god finally a shot went in,” Fay jokingly said about making her first 3-pointer of the tournament. “Honestly, again, just credit to my teammates for getting me the ball. I had confidence in myself to keep shooting even though last game didn’t go my way.”
She wasn’t done. Just 36 seconds later she sunk another 3-pointer, giving life to her and her teammates and bringing Quinnipiac within four points of Iona.
“Jen Fay got us going with two big threes,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We were able to really take off and find a rhythm and score.”
Those six points sparked a 22-4 run by the Bobcats that turned the game around; the Bobcats took the lead and never gave it up.
“We know we have a real solid team and on any given night, you’ve seen it time and again, that someone is going to get us started and spark a fire and lead us to a big run,” Fabbri said. “Most people are just sitting around waiting for that run.”
The Bobcats second half numbers were astronomically better than their first. Sparked by Fay, the Bobcats shot 50 percent from behind the arc in the second half.
The Bobcats toughest task entering the game was containing MAAC first team selections Marina Lizarazu and Alexis Lewis.
Although Lizarazu and Lewis combined for 30 points, the Bobcats did a great job of not letting them take over the game.
“I thought defensively we did a really solid job all night long,” Fabbri said. “I know Lizarazu got free and was really making some plays early in the game but we certainly settled. “
Quinnipiac sophomore forward Aryn McClure was tasked with slowing down Lewis throughout the game.
“My mentality was she was going to score. I’m not going to stop her from scoring at all. She’s a great player but it was to limit the amount of touches,” McClure said. “Lizarazu is a great point guard. One of the best I’ve ever seen and she can dish and most of her dishes are to Alexis Lewis so my main objective was more to limit her touches. It wasn’t just me it was a team effort.”
Martucci was on Lizarazu for most of the game. Although Lizarazu finished with 20 points, Martucci’s stout play and the Bobcats help defense turned Lizarazu over six times. They were also able to hold her to nine points in the second half, with five of them coming from the free throw line.
The Bobcats overcame a poor first half shooting performance to dominate in the last twelve minutes of the game.
Quinnipiac will await the winner of the Rider-Fairfield matchup to see who it will face in the MAAC championship game.
