ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The No. 2 Quinnipiac women’s basketball team cruised past the No. 10 Iona Gaels with a dominant 79-51 win in the MAAC Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon to secure a spot in the semifinals.
“We’re playing a stretch of incredible basketball, which is what you want to be playing now in February and March — and that’s exactly what we’re doing on both ends of the floor,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said.
The Bobcats started strong, taking control from the tip. Karson Martin and Ella O’Donnell set the tone early, helping Quinnipiac maintain its lead through the first quarter. O’Donnell made an immediate impact off the bench, scoring 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting, despite being sidelined with two early fouls that kept her out until the third quarter. Martin contributed 11 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field.
“I think from the get-go I was very focused, and mentally I was locked in and ready to go,” O’Donnell said.
Iona responded with an 8-2 run to start the second quarter, cutting Quinnipiac’s lead and tying the game at 21 after a three-pointer from Judith Gomez. But Jackie Grisdale answered with a three of her own to put the Bobcats back on top. Grisdale finished 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Quinnipiac’s bench provided a major boost, with Caranda Perea knocking down a three on her first shot of the game and finishing with seven points. Gal Raviv added a difficult and-one jumper to push the Bobcats lead to 13. Paige Girardi also stepped up, giving Quinnipiac critical separation in the second quarter.
“It was really great to have Paige and Caranda give us that separation,” Fabbri said, “And O’Donnell played a perfect game from the floor with a dominating performance in the third quarter.”
Raviv, recently named MAAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, led the Bobcats with 23 points on 11-for-16 shooting in her first MAAC tournament game. She also dished out seven assists as Quinnipiac totaled 21 assists as a team.
“Gal doing Gal things,” Fabbri said with a smile. “We were purely focused and ready. We came into the tournament as the hottest team in the conference, and we were ready for this moment.”
The Bobcats’ bench outscored Iona’s 29-19, with contributions from Perea, Girardi, and Bri Bowen. Martin also made an impact in the third quarter with a steal and an and-1 finish.
“I feel like we have the best bench in the conference,” Martin said. “Whenever they get to go in and have a chance to prove themselves, it’s amazing.”
Despite struggling on the boards in the first half — getting outrebounded 17-14 — Quinnipiac tightened up defensively and maintained control the rest of the way.
“One down, one game at a time,” Fabbri said. “Everyone was really impactful in how we won the game. Our starters did what they’ve always done to get us to 27 wins.”
Quinnipiac will play in the MAAC semifinal game on Friday.
