Quinnipiac University
Manhattan
QU Women's Basketball Extends Unbeaten Streak to Six as Bobcats Cruise Past Manhattan, 85-51
1/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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HAMDEN, Connecticut – Right from the opening tip, it was evident the Quinnipiac women's basketball team came to play on Sunday. Having to overcome a three hour delay due to last night's ice storm across the Northeast, the Bobcats showed no ill effects as Quinnipiac rode an explosive first half to the 85-51 victory over Manhattan. The win extends the Bobcats' (16-3, 8-0 MAAC) unbeaten streak to six games overall, nine at home and eight to start conference play. The Jaspers fall to 2-15 overall and 1-7 in the MAAC with the loss.
Quinnipiac's 34-point win at home continues the Bobcats' dominance from the TD Bank Sports Center as QU moves to 9-0 this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 23.7 points per game. The stellar play at home should come as no surprise to Bobcat fans as QU is 34-4 overall (89.5 win percentage) at the TD Bank Sports Center since the 2012-13 season.
Just one game after establishing a new QU Div. I single-game assist record, the Bobcats matched the total on Sunday as Quinnipiac dished out 29 assists to lead the way to a total team victory. In the past two games combined, the Bobcats have tallied 58 assists against just 15 turnovers, creating almost a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in wins against Fairfield on Thursday and Manhattan this evening.
Maria Napolitano (Cincinnati, Ohio) played one of the best games of her career as she notched a game-high 19 points (5-11 3FG) in 18 minutes off the bench. The junior guard's 19-point night fell just one point shy of matching her career high while her five made three pointers established a new single-game record for Napolitano.
Combined as a unit, the five Quinnipiac senior starters totaled 44 points while shooting 18-for-30 (60.0 percent) from the floor. Val Driscoll (Stoughton, Massachusetts) led the way with 15 points (7-8 FG), nine rebounds and four blocks. Driscoll's imposing size created mismatch problems all game for the Jaspers as the Manhattan interior defense had no answer for the 6-foot-4 center.
Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, New Jersey) was her typical self at home as she pumped in 14 points (4-5 3FG) to go along with four rebounds. Guastella has now tallied at least two three-point field goals makes in 15 straight games dating back to Nov. 25 at Notre Dame while also continuing her superior play at home as she averages 17.2 points while shooting 53 percent (35-for-66) from three in the Bobcats' nine games at home.
Steadying the Bobcat attack was Nikoline Ostergaard (Vedbaek, Denmark) who contributed 10 points, six assists and three rebounds. Her playmaking skills at the forward position have guided the top-ranked offense in the MAAC (75.6 PPG) all season as she ranks 3rd among all forwards in the nation in assists per game (3.9).
Gillian Abshire (Washington, D.C.) was her typical self, going the entire game without scoring but her passing skills were on full display as she tallied eight assists against no turnovers. Abshire's eight-assist night gives her 603 for her career, inching closer to the QU all-time record of 681 held by Maria Holland '86.
As a unit, the Bobcat bench combined to score 41 points while several players received extended minutes in the convincing victory. Jennifer Fay (Lynbrook, New York) starred with the best game of her young career as she finished with seven points and career-highs in both rebounds (seven) and assists (five). Sarah Shewan also finished with eight points and a career-high two blocks while Martucci notched six points and two assists.
It looked as if the first half dominance would never end for Quinnipiac as the Bobcats blitzed Manhattan, jumping out to a 15-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Driscoll was utilized early and often as the Bobcats' center tallied the first five points of the game for the Bobcats while Guastella then buried her first of four three-pointers to force the Manhattan timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, it was Napolitano's turn to shine as she exploded for eight points in a matter of two-plus minutes to extend the Bobcat advantage.
After Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut) buried a three, the QU starters entered back into the game and started a 29-6 run that had the Bobcats take an impressive 50-14 lead late in the first stanza. Quinnipiac threatened to break the program's Div. I record for points in a half (60) but came just short as the Bobcats led the Jaspers, 58-21, heading into the halftime locker room.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 61,8 percent (21-34) from the floor while also shooting a blistering 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from behind the three-point arc. In addition, the Bobcats tallied 20 assists on 21 first half baskets (95.2 percent), helping to extend QU's nation-leading assisted basket percentage up to 74.7 percent (378 assists on 506 field goals in 2014-15).
Manhattan was led by Taylor Williams' 16 points while Mikki Guiton (nine points) and Kayla Grimme (eight points) each notched 10 rebounds in the effort.
The Bobcats will look to extend their streak with a huge Thursday night battle looming against Marist at 7:00 pm. The battle to determine first place in the MAAC standings will be the two sides' first meeting since Quinnipiac fell to the Red Foxes in the 2014 MAAC Championship, giving Marist their ninth straight MAAC title.
Contact: Maxx McNall; maxx.mcnall@quinnipiac.edu
