By: Sierra Goodwill
This mid-major power is here to stay.
Make it three NCAA Tournament wins in the past two years for the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team, which defeated the Miami Hurricanes 86-72 on Saturday afternoon in front of a packed Gampel Pavilion.
“Well, that was fun,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “Great balance and an incredible team effort. The tenacity, how hard we fought together, and the atmosphere.”
The Bobcats have always played unselfish basketball, with a different player stepping up at any time. On the biggest stage yet this season, it was Edel Thornton, the Ireland native, that shined. Maybe it was a touch of St. Patrick’s Day luck, or the fact that her family travelled across the country to see her play in person.
“It means a lot, in all regards,” Thornton said. “There was great enthusiasm for the whole game, obviously we always want to win, but to do it today was extra special. I couldn’t send them home any other way.”
Fabbri knew this type of performance was bound to come from from number 11.
“She had an incredible week of practice, really aggressive, wanting the ball, playing so confidently getting ready for the tournament,” the head coach said. “I do think there was an extra pep in her step because her family was coming over.”
There was one play in particular at the end of the third quarter that completely changed the trajectory of this game. Quinnipiac was on offense and there were a flurry of loose balls and offensive rebounds that the Bobcats battled for that eventually led to a Paula Strautmane layup to put her team up 53-52.
The pro-Quinnipiac crowd of thousands erupted.
“The fact that we were out-toughing, that’s a signature of the program,” Fabbri said.
Here’s the sequence that got this QU/UConn crowd on their feet. https://t.co/orRXLZXwnc
— Sierra Goodwill (@SierraGoodwill) March 17, 2018
When the fourth quarter rolled around, the Hurricanes fell apart. The inside game was being contained, outside shots weren’t falling and panic sunk in for Miami.
“Just a disastrous fourth quarter for us,” Miami (Fl.) head coach Katie Meier said. “We really lacked the discipline we had played with for the first three quarters. We had foggy brains.”
On the contrary, Quinnipiac excelled in the final frame. A new offensive set gave the Bobcats a larger variety of shots and Miami was unable to adjust, leading not only to open buckets, but frustration fouls as well. Quinnipiac went 14-for-16 from the charity stripe and shot 50 percent from the field in the last 10 minutes.
“We were starting to play very smoothly offensively in that fourth quarter,” Fabbri said. “We took great care of the ball and we played grittier defense down the stretch and then we were able to keep the gas pedal down.”
Six players finished in double-digits, led by Jen Fay with 19 points, epitomizing the unselfish basketball that the Bobcats strive for. Aryn McClure is usually a top offensive threat, but Saturday she had to find other ways to contribute. She ended up flirting with a triple-double, notching 13 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.
“Miami played me pretty well, they really scouted me so I couldn’t do much offensively,” McClure said. “I tried to do everything else for my team, everyone was hitting shots and that’s the reason why I had nine assists.”
This victory is a sweet one for the Bobcats, especially knowing what comes next. A date with one of the most dominant college sports programs in history – the UConn women’s basketball team.
“When you get a big win, you better enjoy it,” Fabbri said. “So we will enjoy this one tonight and get ready for UConn tomorrow. We already have been talking about some options that we’re thinking about.”
The No. 1 overall seeded Huskies obliterated No. 16 Saint Francis University in the First Round and broke all sorts of records while doing so. UConn scored 94 points in the first half en route to an eventual 140-52 win.
UConn defeated St. Francis 140-52.
The Huskies would have won even if they had not scored a basket after the 1st quarter. pic.twitter.com/EqYrTW2mc3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 17, 2018
Tricia Fabbri and Geno Auriemma have been long-time friends, but Fabbri also sees him as a mentor. She looks forward to the opportunity to share the court with one of the greatest coaches of all time.
“As a coach, he’s legendary,” Fabbri said. “His staff and his players – we get to match wits and see what we can do, what we can come up with and how we want to approach it.”
Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. on Monday night at Gampel Pavilion. While its safe to say that Quinnipiac will most likely not be making it to the Sweet 16 back-to-back years, it’s a chance for the Bobcats to be able to stack up against the nation’s greatest.
“I think we’re just going to play as hard as we can,” McClure said. “To be the best you have to play against the best, so let’s get the matchup going.”
