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Article by: Josh Silverman
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Another year, another strong start for Quinnipiac women’s basketball head coach Tricia Fabbri and her squad.

Drexel kept it close, and Quinnipiac’s fourth-quarter free throw shooting did nothing to help it pull away, but ultimately its stout defense and ball movement were enough for Quinnipiac to get the 56-52 win in Philadelphia.

It didn’t just score points. The team finished with 15 offensive rebounds and 15 steals. A versatile team, Quinnipiac can do a bit of everything.

Through her tenure at Quinnipiac, Fabbri has preached that the first win is unlike most of the others.

“The two toughest wins I say every season to get are your first ones and your semi-finals ones when you’re in your conference,” Fabbri said.

In any given game, a different Quinnipiac player can go off. Tonight, it was redshirt senior forward Jen Fay. Fay’s 15 points weren’t all she contributed, as she added eight rebounds and two assists.

For Fay, the win can lead to calm seas ahead.

“This is just kind of a deep breath that we get to take,” the redshirt senior said. “Going into it obviously the first game of the season it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been playing there are going to be some first game jitters so just getting that first win under our belt is just a nice calming presence.”

For the Bobcats, all of their success in recent years hasn’t changed the philosophy. The first win is still equally as hard to get. That’s because you’re still searching for answers.

“You’re not in a routine,” Fabbri said. “You haven’t figured out all of your rotations and you haven’t laid down a complete identity. You don’t know who you are completely yet.”

While a win can build momentum for a team right out of the gate, senior guard Edel Thornton knows what it’s like to start a season going in the opposite direction.

“Once you can get a win it’s really easy to keep going,” Thornton said. “It’s also really hard to get out of that hole once you start with a loss. I did that our freshman year. We started out with a loss and it took us a while to get into a groove. We’ve started out with wins our last couple of years and it’s a lot easier.”

Quinnipiac will face its next challenge Sunday, Nov. 11 at Bucknell University.