Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Morey Hershgordon
While it didn’t accomplish its main goal for the 2015-16 season, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team will continue its season for at least another game.
Monday night after the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced, the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) bracket was released. Tricia Fabbri and her Quinnipiac Bobcats, an automatic qualifier by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship, will host the America East co-champion Maine Black Bears on Friday March 18 in the first round. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Quinnipiac enters the WNIT following a 57-41 loss in the MAAC Championship game to Iona. Prior to the loss, the Bobcats ripped off 19 straight wins en route to its second straight MAAC regular season title. Bobcats’ freshmen Aryn McClure and Paula Strautmane were named to the MAAC All Tournament team.
The Bobcats also enter the WNIT without senior captain and star guard Maria Napolitano. The Cincinnati native tore her ACL in the MAAC semifinals against Monmouth and will not return this season. She was tabbed as an all-MAAC 2nd Team selection finishing the year averaging 10.7 points, three rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Quinnipiac will need to lock down Maine guard Sigi Koizar if it wants any success. The junior was an all-conference first team selection after averaging 17.5 points, 4.1 rebounds 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. The Black Bears (26-8, 15-1) are coming off one of their best seasons in program history. They fell to Albany in the America East championship game 59-58.
The teams have two common opponents in Vermont and Northeastern. The Bobcats defeated the Catamounts 77-65 on Nov. 28 as well as the Huskies 71-60 on Dec. 9 while the Black Bears swept the Catamounts in conference play and lost to the Huskies 56-44.
Quinnipiac is looking for its first WNIT win in program history. It has qualified for the tournament three times before this season. Most recently, in 2013-14, Quinnipiac lost at Villanova 74-66. Two years before, it fell to Temple 75-60. In 2007-08, it lost to Iona 71-59.
