Quinnipiac women’s basketball (19-5 overall, 14-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) aimed to extend its MAAC winning streak to 14 consecutive games. The Bobcats did just that as they defeated the Canisius Golden Griffins (8-16 overall, 6-7 MAAC) 64-39 on “Girls and Women in Sports Day” in Hamden. Quinnipiac’s head coach Tricia Fabbri, who was nominated for New Haven Register’s Sports Person of the Year in 2017, earned the 399th victory of her coaching career.
The first quarter was low scoring, as it only consisted of a combined 17 points from both Quinnipiac and Canisius. It took two minutes for Golden Griffin senior guard Margret Halfdanardottir to tally the first points of the game. Nevertheless, Quinnipiac had some type of answer to any surge Canisius attempted throughout the game. The first response started on defense when Canisius committed three personal fouls in less than five minutes. Quinnipiac redshirt junior Jen Fay drew an “and-one” play, yet she couldn’t convert on the three-point play opportunity. The Bobcats retained a mere 9-8 lead after 10 minutes of play. Associate head coach Mountain MacGillivray was happy to see his team get off to a promising start.
“I was really pleased with how we got it going right away,” MacGillivray said. “McClure got us going early on and we were really happy with the way she played tonight.”
Fay and the Bobcats started the second quarter off strong with a field goal. Meanwhile, junior guard Aryn McClure’s effort was second to none this evening. McClure fought for three offensive rebounds in one possession to score a field goal and help extend the Quinnipiac lead to 10 points. Canisius sophomore guard Anna Sweny went down the other way and returned McClure’s individual effort with an “and-one” three-point play. But yet again, the Bobcats responded. Sophomore Wisconsin native Jaden Ward collected two offensive rebounds in one possession and then registered her first points of the game on a last-second field goal. This action-packed second quarter concluded with a one-handed, over-the-shoulder field goal by junior guard Brittany Martin. This helped Quinnipiac hold a 24-16 halftime lead.
After the victory, Martin talked about the desperation that all MAAC teams have to dethrone their undefeated conference play streak.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Martin said. “We know everyone in the MAAC wants to beat us.”
MacGillivray talked about one key halftime adjustment he and Fabbri discussed with their team.
“They [Canisius] did a great job mixing up their defenses,” MacGillivray said. “We wanted to better recognize and adjust to those in the second half.”
The third quarter featured a powerful start by McClure, who finished the game going 6-for-10 on field goals. McClure made two foul shots, then executed an “and-one” on the next possession. She tallied another field goal to give her six total points in a matter of the first two minutes in the second half. The third quarter contained a highlight reel, ankle-breaking play when Quinnipiac’s Martin made a step-back jump shot accompanied by friendly rim bounces. Senior guard Carly Fabbri then followed that with a long-distance three-pointer. McClure continued this third quarter momentum as she made a block inside the paint, then contributed on the other side of the court by draining another three-pointer.
Sophomore guard Taylor Herd got into the scoring action with two straight three-pointers. This Bobcat rally compelled Canisus to call a timeout. After moderate back and forth by both teams to close out regulation, Quinnipiac topped Canisius in every statistical category at the final buzzer, notably turnovers (18-9), steals (12-5) and three-point shooting percentage (29.6-12.5).
MacGillivray had a lot of positive comments about head coach Fabbri’s 399th victory.
“She’s fantastic at what she does and I’m just glad to go along with the ride,” MacGillivray said. “That number is just evidence of what she’s been able to accomplish with this program.”
Women’s basketball looks ahead to begin a three-game road trip, starting with a matchup against the Siena Saints on Sunday at 2 p.m.
