By: Q30 Sports Beat Reporters
The 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament has kicked off and the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team has drawn a recent foe for its first game in the quarterfinals: the Monmouth Hawks.
These two teams played on Sunday in the regular season finale and the Bobcats came out on top 77-57. While this might seem like a favorable draw for Quinnipiac, anything can happen when March rolls around.
No. 9 seed Monmouth played in the first round on Thursday morning against No. 8 seed Canisius. The Hawks out scored the Golden Griffs 20-6 in the fourth quarter to erase an 11-point deficit and win by three.
Tip time between Quinnipiac and Monmouth is set for 1 p.m. on Friday at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup:
Monmouth: 10-20, 7-11 MAAC (No. 9 seed)
Head Coach: Jody Craig (1st season, 8-13 overall)
- Replaced Jenny Palmateer on Dec. 8.
- Joined Monmouth as an assistant in June 2017
- Served as the head coach at Foothill College and University of Redlands
- Regional skill development coach for USA Basketball
Recent MAAC Tournament History
- 2017: No. 7 seed, lost to No. 2 seed Rider in the quarterfinals
- 2016: No. 5 seed, lost to No. 1 seed Quinnipiac in the semifinals
- 2015: No. 9 seed, lost to No. 1 seed Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals
- 2014: No. 9 seed, lost to No. 1 seed Iona in the quarterfinals
Key Players
Rhaiah Spooner-Knight, 5-foot-10 senior guard
•Averages 11.4 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field
•Scored a season high 25 points against Manhattan on Feb. 12
•First year at Monmouth after transferring from Utah Valley
Kayla Shaw, 5-foot-10 sophomore guard
•Second on the team in points with 297
•Holds program record for made three-pointers in a season (93)
•2016-2017 MAAC all-rookie team selection
Alexa Middleton, 6-foot-2 sophomore forward
•Leads the team in rebounds with 198
•Scored a season high 22 points at Niagara on Feb. 18
•Shooting 47 percent from the field
Quinnipiac: 24-5, 18-0 MAAC (No. 1 seed)
Key Players
Jen Fay, 6-foot junior forward
- All-MAAC first team and player of the year candidate
- Averages a team-high 12.9 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game
- Shooting 42 percent from three and has made 55 triples so far this season
Ayrn McClure, 5-foot-11 junior forward
- First team all-MAAC selection
- 13th in the MAAC in points per game (12.3), 15th in rebounds per game (5.7) and sixth in assists per game (3.2)
- Scored 13 points in both games against Monmouth in the regular season
Carly Fabbri, 5-foot-7 senior guard
- Third team all-MAAC selection
- Second in the MAAC in assists per game (4.3), 3rd in field goal percentage (47%) and 3rd in three point field goal percentage (41%)
- Scored 21 points on 7 for 11 shooting against Monmouth on Feb. 25
