Tricia Fabbri’s Quinnipiac Bobcats are a lot like a microwave—they just keep getting hotter.
The Bobcats (19-5 overall, 13-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference), undefeated in conference play and riding a thirteen-game winning streak, kicked off Super Bowl Sunday in Hamden with a matinee matchup with the Iona Gaels (1-22 overall, 1-11 MAAC). On a day in which the university honored the all-time Bobcats football team, the Bobcats on the court had a few highlight plays of their own, cruising to an easy 90-43 victory over the Gaels.
Led by sophomore guard Taylor Herd in the first half, the Bobcats pounced to a 27-12 lead after the first quarter; a lead which only continued to build throughout the first half, as Quinnipiac entered the locker room in full command, 48-36.
“She has just been an answer in terms of where we’ve needed a void filled quicker than ever,” Tricia Fabbri said on her young guard. “She’s brought the whole crowd to a screaming pitch today. I’ve never seen somebody have the ball come her way and be so excited to have the ball in her hands. She’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Herd shot 4-of-7 in the first half, all from three-point range, in just 14 minutes. She acted as an energizer for the Bobcats’ first unit, and contributions from both Jen Fay (8 points) and Carly Fabbri (7 points) saw the Bobcats open up their gaping lead. For the younger Fabbri, a blowout of a team that has plagued her in the past was that much sweeter.
“This team has always been a good battle for us…I think today it was just fun to play in such an awesome environment,” Carly Fabbri said after the game.
The second half was the Paula Strautmane show. Strautmane’s eleven second-half points, which all came inside a span of just under seven minutes, led the charge as the Bobcats continued to apply pressure on the gas pedal. 9-of-13 shooting on the game gave her nineteen points, which went with her seven rebounds and three assists.
With yet another conference win under their belt, the Bobcats can, in all likelihood, begin preparing for the conference tournament—a tournament in which they will most likely earn themselves the top seed. However, Carly Fabbri says it’s too early to look ahead to March; there is still work to be done.
“[We just need to] keep getting better. January was a good month for us and our coaches just harped on ‘We don’t want to be playing our best right now, we want to be playing our best when March rolls around.’ But we’re playing pretty well right now. That’s a good sign,” Carly Fabbri said.
The Bobcats are seeking back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. A run to the Sweet Sixteen just a season ago has their expectations high, but in order to repeat their success from last season, they know that they can’t look too far ahead just yet. Carly Fabbri says that if her team expects to find any success in March, they need to continue doing what they’ve been doing all season—take things one game at a time.
“We need to take it one game at a time. Everybody is looking to pick us off, so we just need to stay focused. We have our goal in mind of winning the MAAC, but we need to take it one game at a time.”
Quinnipiac will look to make it 14 straight conference wins on the season when they take on Canisius, a team they beat earlier in the season by 29 points. Tip is set for Friday, February 9 at 5 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center.
