By: Dylan Fearon
Riding an 18-game winning streak, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team is just two victories away from its second straight Metro Atlantic Athletic championship. Its next battle? The Monmouth Hawks, fresh off a 64-46 win over Fairfield in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament. Here are three keys for Tricia Fabbri’s Bobcats before they tip off in the semifinals.
Strong Start
Let me lay it down for you. These two teams have split the regular season meetings. Monmouth took the first meeting 63-60 in West Long Branch, with Quinnipiac getting revenge in Hamden, 85-58. A big key for the Bobcats Sunday will be to come out of the locker room with extreme intensity and be efficient early. In the first half of Quinnipiac’s loss to the Hawks back on January 2, the Bobcats got off to a slow shooting start, hitting just 10 of 33 field goal attempts. The first half in the second matchup? Quinnipiac shot 20 for 35, good for 57 percent. Hot starts have been common for the Bobcats lately, who shot 52 percent in the first half against Niagara in the quarterfinals of the MAAC Tournament on Friday, and 42 percent from deep in the first half against Iona to close out the regular season. If they can get out to an efficient start, I like their chances Sunday.
Contain Jasmine McCall
McCall was named the Co-Sixth Player of the Year on Friday, and deservedly so. McCall is one of the most efficient players in the conference, as the senior guard averaged 8.5 points per game in just 14.5 minutes in the regular season. In her matchups against Quinnipiac, the Manalapan, New Jersey product put up 20 points on eight-for-11 shooting, and three points on zero-for-five shooting. I think you can figure out which performance led to a Hawks win and which led to a Bobcat victory. She also converted the game-winning free throws in the first battle with just 10.3 seconds left. If Quinnipiac contains McCall, her career will be over very quickly. But if she hits her shots and is contributing when she’s out there, we’ll have a ball game.
Pressure the Hawks
Turnovers stink. Not only do they lead to points for the opposition, but they also destroy you mentally. Let’s go back to the regular season matchups. In the Monmouth win, the Hawks were only -2 in the turnover column. Not terrible. But back in Hamden, it was a -10. Monmouth turned it over 25 times. You read that right. 25 turnovers. It wasn’t just one player having a terrible night. Five players had three turnovers or more. Did we mention Quinnipiac won that game by 27? If the Bobcats can force the Hawks to make careless mistakes, this won’t be a contest. But if Monmouth can take care of the basketball like it’s a newborn baby, this could get exciting.
So grab breakfast and head to Times Union Center. It should be an interesting one in Albany. 19 straight? Or heading home? 11 AM can’t come sooner.
Notable Quotes you NEED to READ:
“Our defense is totally different since the last time we played them. We know we can beat them, because we did it before.”- Sarah Olson, Monmouth guard
“We are very confident, especially coming off a 20-point win against a team (Fairfield) that beat us twice gives us a lot of confidence too.”- Olson
“It’s everything. Whether it’s on the perimeter or done low, if we defend down low they can hit three and if you take away the perimeter they can pound it inside.”- Jenny Palmateer, head coach
“We have to continue to play strong. Quinnipiac hits you with a hard first punch.” Jasmine Walker, Monmouth forward
