Playing in its first home conference game of the season, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team defeated the Manhattan Jaspers 69-55 on Monday evening at M&T Bank Arena to secure its first MAAC win this year.

The victory had to have felt good for the Bobcats, as they got revenge after the Jaspers ended their season last year in the MAAC Tournament semifinals with a 72-59 win in Atlantic City.

“There was a little chip on our shoulder,” senior forward Cur’Tiera Haywood said. “We really wanted to focus on us and do what we could.”

Graduate student forward Mary Baskerville led the way off the bench for the Bobcats scoring 17 points and accumulating five steals. The only other Bobcat in double figures was Haywood with 10 points, but four other players scored at least eight points in the victory.

In the first half, the Bobcats had a very balanced attack offensively. Three players had at least six points, with Haywood leading the way with eight. Graduate student guard Rose Caverly and Baskerville each had six points in the first 20 minutes.

“She’s just been keeping things so simple,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said about Baskerville. “And understanding what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively which is hard to do as a transfer. It’s a completely different style of play.”

The Jaspers struggled from the field in the first quarter shooting just 21% in the period. The Bobcats took advantage of their poor shooting and built a nine point lead going into the second quarter. The lead grew to 11 by halftime after another strong defensive stretch for Quinnipiac.

When the third quarter came around, however, things changed. The Jaspers came out of the break with a lot of energy and cut their deficit to just five points going into the fourth, including a 13-0 run at one point. Senior guard Dee Dee Davis led the charge during the run and finished with a game high 24 points and 11 rebounds, locking up her third double-double of the year.

“She is just instant offense,” Fabbri said about Davis. “I thought we kept her in check shooting 50% and scoring 24 and we really did a nice job on her. There’s a reason why she is preseason Player of the Year. She can heat up and score 14 points in two minutes.”

Outside of Davis, the only other Jasper in double figures was sophomore guard Bella Nascimento, who finished with 12 points. Sophomore forward Petra Juric came into the game leading the team with 16 points per game, but was held to just six points and had four turnovers.

Despite the second half comeback by Manhattan, Quinnipiac was still able to come out victorious to secure that elusive first conference win. Last Saturday the Bobcats were in a similar spot on the road against Iona where they blew a second half lead and ended up losing the game. On Monday it was different.

“We really became unglued,” Fabbri said about the Iona loss. “But practice yesterday we just got right back to work. It’s nice having a veteran team and know you can challenge them with the mentality going forward.”

Up next for Quinnipiac after a short break for the holidays is a road game against Saint Peter’s on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. in Jersey City, where the Bobcats will look to advance past .500 in conference play.