Hamden, Conn. – The Quinnipiac Bobcats answered the bell at home against the Iona Gaels, getting the win 70-64 before heading up to Buffalo for a tough road trip against Canisius and Niagara.

Basketball is a game of runs and the Gaels came out sprinting from the opening tip, scoring the first 10 points of the game. The Bobcats have statistically not started games well and quickly settled in but not before head coach Tricia Fabbri had to burn a timeout within the first three minutes of the game.

“We were a little wide-eyed and kind of floating around like, ‘What are we supposed to be doing?’” Fabbri said. “Let’s get it together and settle into the game.”

First year walk-on Ava Sollenne was able to stop the bleeding for the Bobcats after getting her first start in her first year in Hamden. 

“She earned that right [to start],” Fabbri said. “She’s just an absolute workhorse and she’s intelligent as well.”

Sollenne scored a career-high 11 points, continuing her hot streak from behind the arc, hitting three, three-pointers against Iona and six in the last two games. 

Quinnipiac didn’t need to rely on their perimeter shooting when the inside game was working against the smaller Iona squad. 

Sophomore Ella O’Donnell and first-year Anna Foley combined for 24 of the team’s 40 points in the paint. O’Donnell, who was the only first year not to start in the game, recorded her third double-double in back-to-back games. 

What seems to be a recurring theme for this team is that they are very quick to give credit to their teammates for their success, including O’Donnell. 

“Our whole team was giving me good energy,” O’Donnell said. “I felt good. I felt prepared. I felt like I ate well.”

In non-conference play, the second year forward from Ireland was a very streaky scorer. In one game, O’Donnell would get into double figures, followed by games where she wouldn’t reach 10-plus points in a game. 

After entering conference play, O’Donnell has been settling into her role this season and is second on the team in scoring, with almost 12 points a game. 

The biggest difference? The coaching staff being in her ear. 

“[They] are kind of telling me that I am good enough to get the ball and take the ball,” O’Donnell said. “They’ve already worked with me in the mental aspect but they were also coming at the physical aspect…I just built confidence on top of that.”

Coming into the season, there were so many questions surrounding the Quinnipiac Bobcats with the amount of inexperience that was coming into the program. 

This team has shown that it can win now, while also building a foundation for the future: both for Atlantic City and the seasons to come. 

“I don’t see us as young anymore now that we are into January,” Fabbri said. “It’s going to go as well as we talked about: crawl, walk and run.”

On every social media post that comes from the program says one thing: #Foundation

BOBCATS WINNNN!!!

Martin leads the way with 22 points as the Bobcats improve to 4-1 in the MAAC! #Foundation🔨 pic.twitter.com/v9fGnWMNjK

— Quinnipiac Women's Basketball (@QU_WBB) January 13, 2024

Without restating the obvious, the term goes deeper for the Bobcats as they continue to work to win for this season and beyond. 

“It’s a big picture approach to how we’re learning what we do and how we do it every day,” Fabbri said. “There’s a new opportunity to learn.”

With the close win against Iona, the Bobcats moved to 4-1 in the MAAC and 7-7 overall. Those marks put the Bobcats second in the conference, just behind Fairfield which has a 6-0 record in conference. 

Before trying to dethrone the current top team in the MAAC, they make the trek up to Buffalo to face Canisius, currently the No. 3 seed in the MAAC and Niagara, the preseason favorite to represent the conference in the NCAA tournament. 

O’Donnell’s advice to the first-years as they go on their longest trip this season?

“Bring a pillow. Bring some snacks. Brace yourself for the trip,” O’Donnell said. 

That game against the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the MAAC is set to take place on January 18th at 6 pm before facing Niagara on the following Saturday.