Quinnipiac women’s basketball defeats Fairfield, advances to MAAC semifinals

March 8, 2019

By Chris Dacey

“I just wanted to stay out of their way,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said after her Quinnipiac women’s basketball team’s 63-48 win over Fairfield. With the win, the Bobcats now move to the semifinals of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament. They will play the winner of No.4 Monmouth and No. 5 Canisius on Sunday.

The game might not have been close, as per usual with Quinnipiac in the MAAC, but players like senior Jen Fay said her team was not going to look past the Stags going into this game.

“They are a good team and they played us tough last time,” Fay said. “We knew we were going to get their best shot. They are going to make runs, it’s a game of runs and thankfully [Brittany Martin] and [Taylor Herd] made big shots when we needed them.”

The Stags might have put up a good battle last time the two Connecticut teams played but early on, the Bobcats looked like they were going to run away with this one because of a 12 nothing run to start off the game. And Quinnipiac owes that run to its defense.

“It is a game of runs and we knew eventually they would start hitting especially since they didn’t score until five minutes in,” Aryn McClure said. “So, they were just trying to get and their grove, but we stopped them and gained that momentum back.”

Fay was one of three Bobcats to reach double digits in scoring. She was joined alongside fellow seniors Martin and McClure who shot around 55 percent from the floor.

“We are really experienced players,” Fay said. “Seniors now, we have done this before. Again, it’s a game of runs so we know we just got to keep everyone settled and having five seniors out there really helps that.”

And on top of their on court leadership, their head coach took a different approach going into the MAAC Tournament because of the seniors being leaders of their own.

“It’s just so comforting and enjoyable to watch do what they do so well in this game of basketball,” Fabbri said. “And actually, know a lot of fun.”

Fabbri also explained with so much expected of her team she did not want to do anything that will get in the way of her team she explained.

“You’re not teaching [the seniors] anything,” Fabbri said. “And they are actually teaching the sophomores and the freshmen.”

Not a bad idea considering Quinnipiac’s senior class in the winningest class in program history including two trips to the NCAA Tournament with one Sweet 16 appearance.

“These young ladies have done so much and now we are at a point of the season where it’s fun for all of us,” Fabbri said. “You wait all year to get to this point, all the heavy lifting has been done and now there is everything to play for.”

The Bobcats will be back in action at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York on Sunday against the winner of the Monmouth Canisius game. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Brittany Martin Postgame Interview: