The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team is headed back to the big dance, though the Bobcats will not be dancing too far away from Hamden.
Quinnipiac drew a 9-seed in the Albany Region of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Championship. The Bobcats will face the 8-seed Hurricanes of Miami in the opening round, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Storrs, CT.
.@QU_WBB is officially a number 9 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Quinnipiac will face number nine #Miami in Storrs, CT. #Quinnipiac defeated Miami last season in the NCAA Tournament.
— Bryan Schwartz (@BryanSchwartz15) March 12, 2018
This matchup will be a rematch of the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, where Quinnipiac defeated fourth-seeded Miami 85-78 to advance to the Sweet 16. Quinnipiac ultimately fell to the eventual national champion, South Carolina, 100-58.
The winner of this game would face the winner of No. 1 overall seed Connecticut and No. 16 seed St. Francis. A date with Connecticut would be the second all-time matchup between the two Nutmeg State schools. The last time the Bobcats played the Huskies was Dec. 17, 1998, when Connecticut defeated Quinnipiac 117-20.
If #Quinnipiac were to defeat #Miami, it would face UConn in the second round… pic.twitter.com/msP07fuHPY
— Bryan Schwartz (@BryanSchwartz15) March 12, 2018
As head coach Tricia Fabbri has continually said this season, the Bobcats are just taking this year game-by-game.
The Bobcats flew through the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this year, winning all 21 games. Quinnipiac won the MAAC Tournament title, with relative ease. The Bobcats won the three postseason games against Monmouth, Rider and Marist by an average margin of victory of 22.6 points per game.
Quinnipiac was recognized in the national polls for its recent string of success, receiving 12 votes in the latest Associated Press poll. The Bobcats were also 37th in the nation in RPI.
Here was Quinnipiac’s reaction to its seeding, opponent & location. #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/QibryHuGkM
— Sierra Goodwill (@SierraGoodwill) March 13, 2018
Quinnipiac had three players named to all-conference teams in 2017-18 with Jen Fay and Aryn McClure being first team selections and Carly Fabbri named an All-MAAC third team member in her senior season.
Fabbri mirrored what her head coach said shortly after the MAAC title game. “We just take it one game at a time, but hopefully another Sweet 16 appearance,” Fabbri said. “We’re excited to see who we get in the first round and hopefully get that first win under our belt.”
Quinnipiac will have that opportunity, and it all begins Saturday against Miami.
For continued coverage of Quinnipiac in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, follow @Q30Sports, @BryanSchwartz15 and @SierraGoodwill.
