Quinnipiac all over Niagara in senior day win
Photo Courtesy: Liz Flynn
February 15, 2020
Highlights – Bryan Schwartz
A celebration of Quinnipiac’s trio of seniors – Eric Kerr
Story – Nick Lewis
The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team hosted the Niagara Purple Eagles on senior day. The Bobcats honored senior guard Taylor Herd and senior forwards Paige Warfel and Jaden Ward. The players were honored with their families before the game. This senior class has been apart of three consecutive MAAC championships including two undefeated seasons in conference play.
“What’s really special is in the previous three years we were expected to win,” said Warfel “We’re very new this year and very young and it’s been a lot of fun for me trying to also coach up the younger kids.”
Warfel is confident in her team’s ability to win a fourth consecutive MAAC championship with the passion that her team has. The senior forward was not alone in believing her team can make another run to the championship.
Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri believes that the challenge that the seniors have had this year is what sets them apart from the other senior classes.
“It’s absolutely amazing and a testament to those three young ladies, with what they have had to do even more responsibility, more leadership, grown up faster with this new team and look at the spot we’re in,” said Fabbri.
One of the biggest challenges the seniors faced this season is carrying the expectation of winning another championship among all the unknowns that this season brought. The Bobcats are 9-5 in the MAAC with six games remaining and a loss by conference-leader Fairfield puts them in a position to win the top seed.
The Bobcats beat the Purple Eagles 71-61 in a contest that at times was ruled by the Bobcats’ defense. Niagara had trouble shooting and at times turned the ball over on consecutive possessions. Aided by subbing five players at a time, a system called the “gold rush,” the Bobcats were able to pressure the Purple Eagles throughout the game.
Getting back to their identity, using it to reenergize and reset after playing good first halves the past two games were some of the reasons the gold rush made a return, according to Fabbri.
After dropping back-to-back games to Siena and Manhattan, Fabbri said that the team kept coming back hungry to get better at each practice. Taylor Herd was a fan of using the gold rush in todays game as it gave her fresh legs off the bench and liked seeing the depth the team had. She said there wasn’t a fall-off between the first and second teams.
“We’re really talented even though we’re really young,” Herd said “A lot of people can play a lot of positions, people are versatile so as long as we play basketball like we did today I really think we’re unstoppable. It’s just making sure we’re paying attention to the fine details and all the little things.”
The Bobcats host Rider on Thursday at the People’s United Center as they look to move up the standings and begin another win streak.
