Film Room by Eric Kerr 

Story by Quinton Hamilton

The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team opened conference play this weekend on the road at Manhattan.

Both matchups were exciting in their own way as the Bobcats got down big early in Friday’s contest but came roaring back in the second half to force overtime, eventually losing 71-70 on a short-range baseline buzzer beater.

The Bobcats got off to a much better start Saturday and turned a three-point half time lead into an 11-point victory for their first conference win of the season. Here are a few takeaways from the pair of games.

The Good

Zone Defense

After a rough opening half Friday, Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri switched up the defense in the third quarter. The team went to a full court press and fell back into a 2-3 zone and the changes played a key role in slowing down the attack of the Manhattan guards.

The Bobcats used that zone and a number of timely runs to erase a 21-point deficit and force overtime. The Bobcats stuck with the zone on Saturday and it paid off helping not only keep the quick Manhattan guards in check but also held them to 30 percent shooting for the game.

The defensive switch up is a great thing to fall back on as the season moves on.

Strength in Numbers

Fabbri’s rotation is coming into form for conference play and it looks like whoever enters the game can have an impact in some way. The Bobcats went 10-deep on Friday and had four players score in double figures.

Mikala Morris led the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds — more on that later. Mackenzie DeWees continued to be the x-factor posting a near triple double with 14 points eight rebounds and eight assists.

They had an eight-player rotation Saturday but Fabbri made sure to keep the rotation flowing on the second game of a back-to-back. Though she didn’t score the ball like in the previous non-conference games, Rose Caverly did a great job of managing her frustration and running the Bobcat offense in both games. When she finds her offense again, watch out.

Mikala Morris’s Career Weekend

Morris was key in both games. After struggling in the first half, she picked it up offensively in the second half of Friday’s contest. Morris paced the team’s huge comeback and tied her career high of 18 points and added 10 rebounds.

In Saturday’s contest she continued to roll with a near double-double (10 points, seven rebounds) heading into halftime. The sophomore finished off an impressive offensive weekend with a new career high in points (25) and tied her career high in rebounds (17). She should definitely be in the running for a Player of the Week award.

The Bad

Down Big Early

Friday’s game wasn’t the first time the Bobcats faced a seemingly insurmountable deficit going into the second half. If the team wants its shot at conference title, the slow starts have to stop. Thankfully, the starters brought it from the jump on Saturday and the comfortability of not having to play from behind led to a victory.

Turnovers

The turnover numbers aren’t horrible but at times they do come in bunches. We saw that a couple of times this weekend and if a team takes advantage back-to-back opportunities it could lead to runs for opposing teams.

Bottom Line

Two wins would have been great but the Bobcats needed at least a split and that’s what they got. The Jaspers were picked to finish first in the preseason polls and the fact that the Bobcats had two overall good games should fare well moving forward into the conference season.

Amani Free and Sajada Bonner played some great minutes for the Bobcats and their contributions could be key in helping the Bobcats climb to the top of the conference.

The Bobcats will have a weekend off before they host the Marist Red Foxes on Jan. 1 and 2.