On a day meant to celebrate guard Jackie Grisdale reaching the 1,000-point milestone, the Maine Black Bears spoiled the moment with a 63–55 upset over Quinnipiac.
The Bobcats were glad to be back on their home court for the first time since November 23rd, but were rudely greeted by a gritty Black Bears squad that snuck a win out behind an incredible second-half effort.
“They were determined to get the win today, and we didn’t match that intensity,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said regarding her squad’s play. She makes a great point, too — Maine had all the answers to Quinnipiac’s powerful center Anna Foley early on. Foley had two turnovers in the loss, and despite having plenty of opportunities to break through, Maine stood their ground and limited her scoring to seven points.
It wasn’t just Foley the Black Bears had in a box, though — Jackie Grisdale was in a straitjacket the majority of the contest, being held to zero points in the first half. “We’ve got to understand how we need to play against pressure to get open to keep running our offense,” Fabbri said regarding Maine’s defense on Grisdale. She only took six shots from the field despite playing 37 minutes, the most of any Bobcat.
Maine’s defensive stand on Grisdale forced the Bobcats to find other options to score, one of those being Ella Ryan. Ryan stepped up in a huge way for Quinnipiac, proving to be a catalyst to their success in the first half. She had an incredible all-around game — 17 points, 3-4 from three, and even recorded two steals and assists respectively. Moving forward, she’s proven she can be a fantastic option when Grisdale is struggling.
The second half was a different story, though. Powered by back-to-back three pointers to start the third quarter by Maine’s Olivia Alvarez and Adrianna Smith, the Black Bears fought their way back despite trailing 34-23 early on in the half. “We gave up too much down the stretch to win that game,” Fabbri said regarding the second half.
Maine looked like a completely different squad in the back half of the game — after going 2-8 from range in the first two quarters, the Black Bears finished going 7-19 from deep, good for 36.8 percent. Their ability to constantly find open shots along the perimeter threw Quinnipiac off its game. “That affected our execution and all the efficiency we’ve been able to play with.”
Despite out-rebounding the Black Bears offensively 13 to nine, Quinnipiac gave up far too many second-chance opportunities and points, which ultimately incited Maine’s late explosion. “Just gave up too many offensive rebounds down the stretch, we didn’t lock in defensively.” Those key second and sometimes third chance points are so backbreaking, especially considering the Bobcats’ shot inefficiency.
Quinnipiac shot 35.5% from the field on Sunday, significantly lower than their season average of 41.5%. Ella O’Donnell and Sydney Ryan went 5-20 and 3-10 from the floor, respectively, which goes to show how great the Black Bears’ defense was on two players whose shot percentage this season are among the team’s best.
While the loss may sting for Quinnipiac, they have no choice but to move on quickly — they will start MAAC play vs. Manhattan on Dec. 19th, as their road back to the MAAC championship begins. While Fabbri thinks her team is in a great spot, the loss also serves as a reminder of how difficult collegiate basketball really is. “This is another lesson of how hard it is to win,” Fabbri mentioned, “and how hard you have to work to earn it.”
