The excitement level for this 2021-22 Quinnipiac Bobcats Women’s Basketball team is infectious. Media day coverage for this upcoming season took place at the People’s United Center on Monday, Oct. 25. 

Prior to the press conference reporters were able to get a glimpse of a Monday morning practice and that glimpse was something. It didn’t feel like a practice due to the energy which almost matched the MAAC Championship atmosphere. 

The girls were playing like they haven’t touched a basketball in months in a good way. Players were flying up and down the court as if they were on fire, getting on the floor, talking up a storm and flat out competing as if there was this immense chip on the squads’ shoulders. 

Finishing the odd 2020-21 campaign with a record of 11-5 in MAAC play resulted in the Bobcats holding the no. 2 seed in the 2021 MAAC Tournament. One would think based on the past of this program the women would be able to compete in the MAAC Championship game. The no. 7 seed Rider Broncs had other ideas. Their exciting first round win against the no. 10 seed Monmouth Hawks 44-41 must have sparked some sort of cohesion throughout the team. They were able to leave the Bobcats in disbelief with a 62-50 win in the quarterfinals. 

Seven months later the stinging is still apparent through the entire Bobcats team and that doesn’t include just the players. This season the whole program is all in on unfinished business, as this group is coming with vengeance. 

Bobcats head coach Tricia Fabbri who is heading into her 27th season with the Bobcats was very descriptive when talking about what makes this 2021-22 team special. 

“We are still evolving and learning about us, but I think there is a true hunger from player 1 through 16,” Fabbri said. “There is an incredible excitement right now coming into the arena getting better as that season moves closer into focus. I would say hunger and a real excitement right now to find our real identity.”

Mackenzie DeWees, who won the MAAC player of the year last season as a junior, is ready to make one final run to cap off a remarkable career with the Bobcats. Her ability to dictate the pace as a defender is something that is very rare and isn’t visible on a basketball court too often at this level. 

“When Coach recruits us, she wants gritty players and coming in that’s just what I saw myself as is a gritty player,” DeWees said. “I want to do things that are often overlooked on the stat sheet such as diving to the ball first, getting the steals and making those plays that are overlooked on the stat sheet but are so important to the game. I don’t see myself as the player of the year, I see myself as a player who’s going to make things happen on the court.”

Rose Caverly is a senior leader on this team along with DeWees and it was nice to get some insight as to what she focused on during this tedious offseason. 

“I think just being able to consistently score from all three levels, I just want to be a threat from other places on the floor,” Caverly said. The senior guard shot 39% from downtown last season, so being a consistent three-point scorer could have MAAC coaches’ hair turning grey. 

While there are a lot of veterans on this year’s team such as DeWees and Caverly, there is a good mix of first years and one that has stood out in preseason is the elusive quick guard Reiven Douglas. She shared her thoughts on being acclimated to the team and her first impressions of Quinnipiac itself. 

“I’m still trying to find my niche, the girls have been really great in accepting me and helping me find my role, coach as well,” Douglas said. “I think I’ve been able to fit in really well and the school has treated me amazing off the court. The girls are really close and I have made a lot of friends in my classes and my professors are really open.”

The Bobcats will start the revenge tour on Tuesday, Nov. 9 as they will travel to the Bronx to take on the Fordham Rams in a non-conference matchup.