In the midst of a doubleheader, Quinnipiac (8-5, 6-3 MAAC) took the first game in casual fashion against Monmouth (1-9, 1-5 MAAC) Saturday afternoon at the People’s United Center, 68-54.

After not playing a game for more than two weeks, you would think that Quinnipiac was going to come out of the gates rusty. In actuality, the team came out firing, shooting 7 of 16 from the field in the first quarter, which ended with the Bobcats trailing by one.

With sophomore center Mikayla Morris not being much of a factor early on, freshman forward Tiera White capitalized on this opportunity as she put up a quick six points in under two minutes of play.

Yet it was the one-win Hawks who soared in the first quarter. Led by freshman guard Nina Hall’s nine points, Monmouth was able to put up 20 points on an effective 9 of 16 shooting, going a perfect 2 for 2 beyond the three-point line.

Much of the rust started to occur in the second period, as both offenses took a step backward. Putting up a respective 14 points, Monmouth shot an unattractive 5 for 13 from the field while remaining perfect 5 for 5 from three for the half.

Even with the Bobcats’ offense shooting an abysmal 5 for 21, Mackenzie DeWees kept the Bobcats in the game as she scored seven of her career-high 20 points in the quarter.

While the offense continued to struggle, another area started to thrive — the defense.

Throughout the quarter, the team put up a total of six steals, with White and junior guard Amani Free recording one steal, while DeWees and senior guard Chiara Bacchini each got a pair of their own.

The Bobcats offense started to gain momentum in the third quarter thanks to DeWees, Free and Morris, with the trio combining for 14 of the team’s 18 points in the quarter.

This, and the defense recording two more steals, started to dismantle Monmouth’s offense. Holding the offense to 11 points in the quarter, it was evident that the Bobcats started to become too much for the Hawks.

The fourth quarter resembled the third, as the Bobcats continued to wreak havoc on the Hawks’ offense. Quinnipiac continued to put points on the board while only allowing Monmouth to score nine points on 3 of 10 shooting.

With the win, the Bobcats are now 5-1 in their past six games and have a record of 60-10 in the MAAC since the 2013-2014 season.

Quinnipiac will play the second of its doubleheader tomorrow against Monmouth at the same time & place, 2 p.m. at the People’s United Center.