Quinnipiac University
Drexel
QU Women's Basketball Downs Drexel for Fifth Straight Win, 74-50
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac University women's basketball team extended its winning streak to five straight games on Wednesday night, defeating Drexel University, 74-50, at the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats were led by Val Driscoll (Stoughton, Massachusetts) and Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, New Jersey) who finished with 15 points apiece in the victory.
Quinnipiac (8-2) continues to dismantle opponents at home as the Bobcats run their unbeaten streak to five games from the TD Bank Sports Center. In those five home games, Quinnipiac has outscored their opponents by an average of 16.8 points.
Those Bobcat fans on-hand were greeted by a great all-around performance as the home team shot the ball at a 50 percent clip (27-for-54) for the game while holding Drexel (4-4), the 2013 WNIT Champions, to just 29.8 percent (17-for-57) from the floor.
Quinnipiac's starting lineup of Driscoll, Guastella, Nikoline Ostergaard, Jasmine Martin and Gillian Abshire dominated as the five seniors combined to shoot 17-for-27 (63 percent) for the game.
Driscoll shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor to become just the seventh player in Quinnipiac's Div. I history to post a perfect 100 field goal percentage (hitting minimum six made field goals). She added a game-high six rebounds to go along with one block.
Guastella continued to excel at home as she pumped in 15 points, going 5-for-7 from three-point land, in just 21 minutes. In five games from Hamden, Guastella is averaging 17 points while shooting 61.2 percent (30-49 FG) overall and a sultry 55.9 percent (19-34 3FG) from deep.
Gillian Abshire (Washington, D.C.) spun the Bobcats' offense with great proficiency all night as she totaled 11 assists in just 21 minutes of action. Abshire's 11 assists equaled a new season-high while also representing the seventh double digit assist game of her four-year career.
Two more Bobcats reached double figures as Maria Napolitano (Cincinnati, Ohio) posted a season-high 11 points while Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, New Jersey) added 10 to extend her double digit scoring streak to three games.
Quinnipiac's run-and-gun offense was in full force as the Bobcats owned a 26-3 advantage over the Dragons in fast break points. Right from the jump, Quinnipiac stormed out of the gates with a 10-0 run less than four minutes into play. Driscoll and Guastella asserted themselves right from the start as they combined to score the first 10 points for the Bobcats.
Drexel responded as Quinnipiac's lead didn't grow to more than seven points through the next 10 minutes. The Dragon's gutty effort began to wilt away as the Bobcats' second unit entered and picked up a quick 7-3 run. Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut) launched a three-pointer from the corner while Sarah Shewan (Russell, Ontario) banged in a layup to extend the Bobcats' lead to 28-17.
After five quick points gave Quinnipiac the 38-26 halftime lead, the Bobcats sent a message coming out of the locker room as QU scored 12 straight points to start the second half. Martin was the beneficiary of the unrelenting pressure as she pumped in eight straight points, including back-to-back fast break three-pointers, in just 2:15 to open the second half.
Armed with the 50-26 lead less than four minutes into the second stanza, Quinnipiac's advantage grew to as many as 27 points as the Bobcats iced away the win late, eventually finishing off the 74-50 victory.
Both Shewan (six points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals) and Jennifer Fay (seven points, five rebounds, two steals) came in and provided Quinnipiac with great minutes off the bench.
Drexel was led by Rachel Pearson who finished with 11 points (3-5 3FG) and four rebounds. Sarah Curran also chipped in a 10-point game and Carrie Alexander added eight points, three assists and three rebounds off the bench for a Dragons squad that has now lost two straight.
Quinnipiac looks to extend its winning streak to six games as the Bobcats travel to face intrastate foe Hartford on Sunday, Dec. 21. The non-conference tilt is scheduled to tip-off at 12:00 pm from Chase Family Arena.
Contact: Maxx McNall; maxx.mcnall@quinnipiac.edu
