Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Tom Cunningham
Two of mid-major basketball’s best faced off in on Friday afternoon as Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) made the trip to Connecticut to take on Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference powerhouse, Quinnipiac. The Eagles defeated the Bobcats the last two seasons, but third time was the charm for the Bobcats as they were able to pull out a 66-56 victory on their home court.
Both the Eagles and the Bobcats struggled to find their groove early on. Both teams played sloppy basketball on both sides of the floor, with the Eagles turning the ball over 14 times to 11 turnovers for the Bobcats. FGCU head coach Karl Smesko knows a performance like that, against a team like Quinnipiac, will not get the job done.
“We were playing a really good team, a team that is probably going to go to the NCAA Tournament,” Smesko said. “We made too many mistakes to beat a good team. We turned the ball over and shot it poorly.”
Despite a rough first half for both, the score stayed tight and the Eagles went to the locker room leading 27-26. Quinnipiac sophomore Aryn McClure lead all scorers at the half with 10 points while Erica Nelson, playing in her first game for FGCU, lead the Eagles with eight pints of her own.
The second half was a different story as Quinnipiac outscored FGCU 20-to-9 in the third quarter. Redshirt senior Adily Martucci lead the way for Quinnipiac tallying five points in the quarter, and 12 of her 14 points overall came in the second half.
“I thought they came out at the very beginning of the second half and they had the intensity of starting the game,” Smesko said. “We were just a little nonchalant and then all of a sudden we’re up one, to being down 10 pretty quickly.”
Eight-of-nine players to play for Quinnipiac found themselves on the scoresheet, including 14 points from McClure, Martucci, and Brittany Johnson. Quinnipiac is one of the deepest teams in its conference and can expect contributions from different players up and down the roster, making them a tough team to defeat.
“I think what made it so tough was how many versatile people they have,” Nelson said. “We had game-plans for the post, and then the post [players] could shoot threes. I think that made it harder for us.”
“They have so many good players who are versatile,” Smesko said. “Kids that can drive, shoot it, and also post up. They are really good at exploiting certain matchups. The are a really well coached team with good players.”
While Quinnipiac seemed to be in control for much of the second half, FGCU refused to go away easily, cutting the lead to as little as three with just over six minutes to go. Rosemarie Julien finished with a game-high 16 points, 10 of which game in the fourth quarter. Even with Julien’s 10 fourth quarter points, the Bobcats tenacious defense and balanced offense proved to be too much for the Eagles.
With the loss, Smesko knows his team has some things to work on, especially while incorporating nine new faces to the lineup this year.
“I think in the first game there are a lot of mental mistakes that you’ll clean up as time goes on,” Smesko said. “At least on our end there was just way too many of them. We were careless with the ball and we forced bad shots. We didn’t value possessions the way we needed to.”
FGCU returns to action on Sunday when it takes on Hartford, while Quinnipiac travels to take on Dayton.
