ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The No. 2 Quinnipiac women’s basketball team defeated No. 6 Merrimack 65-51 in the MAAC semifinals on Friday, securing a spot in the championship game.
“Credit to Merrimack. We knew they were a passionate team and always come out hot, but we had to stay the course. Composure was a big word we emphasized throughout the game,” said Anna Foley.
Gal Raviv led the Bobcats with 23 points and five rebounds, while Ella O’Donnell provided a spark off the bench with 13 points. Foley added 12 points and six rebounds, and Jackie Grisdale finished with 11 points.
“So much fun. Staying together, playing together,” Raviv said about competing alongside her teammates in the tournament.
The Bobcats got off to a slow start, as Merrimack outscored them 18-14 in the first quarter and built an eight-point lead, leaning heavily on their three-point shooting (2-for-5 from deep, 7-for-15 from the field).
Raviv knocked down a jumper to cut the lead to two, but Merrimack quickly responded with a three-pointer. However, Quinnipiac’s defense soon took over, switching to a half-court press that forced turnovers and led to transition points.
Raviv grabbed a steal and converted a layup to give the Bobcats their first lead at 22-21. Moments later, O’Donnell converted an and-one, pushing Quinnipiac’s lead to 32-25 as part of a 17-5 run to close the half.
“I thought defensively we really settled in. We were able to be very opportunistic with a couple of things we were doing. We really needed those stops. The second time we saw them, we had success with it, so we thought we could replicate that today, and it came to fruition,” said head coach Tricia Fabbri.
The Bobcats continued to build on their lead in the second half. Foley came up with back-to-back blocks in the third quarter, leading to a transition layup by Raviv. O’Donnell added another and-one in the fourth quarter, extending the lead to double digits.
“Gal just took the game over offensively. Ella settled us right in and gave us a post presence. Foley had two great blocks that really changed the momentum and allowed us to get the ball inside for key touches,” Fabbri added.
Quinnipiac forced 17 turnovers in the win.
With the victory, the Bobcats advance to the MAAC Championship, where they will face No. 1 Fairfield on Saturday at 1:30.
