Quinnipiac University
Marist
QU Women's Basketball Staves Off Marist, 80-62; Bobcats Clinch First Round Bye in MAAC Tournament
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The McCann Arena was rocking for a brief minute in the midst of a Marist run but the Quinnipiac women's basketball team were the ones who stole the show on Thursday night.
Leading by as many as 18 points midway through the first half, visions of the 2014 MAAC Championship were beginning to creep in as the Red Foxes stormed all the way back to get to within one with 13 minutes remaining. Only this time, the Bobcats' senior-laden team fought off the nerves and stormed past nine-time defending MAAC champ Marist, 80-62.
Much like the title game from a year ago, Quinnipiac controlled the action in the early going against a heavyweight opponent in Marist. Shots were falling left and right as the Bobcats started the game going 7-for-8 from the floor, including three straight from long distance. The early success continued deep into the first stanza as the Bobcat lead ballooned to 41-23 before the Red Foxes mounted their comeback.
Marist charged into the locker room on a 15-5 run, an advantage that extended into the early stages of the second half as Marist closed what was an 18-point margin all the way down to a one-point deficit, 55-54.
With all 1,715 Marist fans on-hand, the noise was deafening throughout the Marist run, reaching a fever pitch going into the media timeout down by just one point. But for the Bobcats, in the face of all the pressure and energy coursing through McCann Arena, the memory of the stunning defeat to Marist in last year's title game is just a thing of the past.
Quinnipiac's defense was stifling, the offense clicked and the emotions of the past did not get in the way of a victory on Thursday night.
Just as she has done all season, Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, New Jersey) showed out when her team needed her the most. Coming out of the media timeout, she banged in a clutch three-pointer from the wing and followed up with another crowd silencer from long range just 1:26 later.
With the Bobcat lead back up to nine points, Guastella wasn't finished as she found nothing but net on a third straight three-pointer before hitting a jumper in the key to make it, 70-56, Bobcats.
On the defensive end, Marist couldn't break a stifling QU press as the Red Foxes' guards had to deal with waves of Bobcat defenders on their way up the court. Nine second half turnovers for Marist came in large part to the unheeding pressure put on by the Bobcats.
Only minutes had passed since the Marist crowd had the Arena rocking but after Nikoline Ostergaard (Vedbaek, Denmark) crashed the boards and cashed in two straight layups with under three minutes remaining, the only ones that could be heard was the Quinnipiac bench relishing in the sensational late-game effort.
Ostergaard finished off the victory with a seeing-eye pass that led to a wide open Val Driscoll (Stoughton, Massachusetts) layup as Quinnipiac walked away winners, 80-62.
Quinnipiac's monumental win over annual mid-major power Marist makes them the first MAAC school to sweep a regular season series from the Red Foxes since Siena back in 2003-04. The 18-point margin of victory for Quinnipiac also represents the biggest margin of defeat for Marist to a MAAC opponent at home since falling to Siena, 69-38, all the way back on Feb. 9, 2003.
The Bobcat seniors made it happen as QU's five senior starters combined to score the final 25 points for Quinnipiac on the evening. But perhaps none were bigger than the 14-point first half effort from Ostergaard as the senior forward finished with a team-high 21 points (9-16 FG, 2-3 3FG) to go along with eight rebounds and two steals. Ostergaard has now burned Marist twice this season as she finished with a team-high 14 points back in the 73-55 victory at home on Jan. 22.
Guastella's second half was one to remember as the senior tallied 11 of her 13 points in the final 20 minutes of play. She finished 5-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-7 from deep to go along with six rebounds and one block. Guastella also combined with Maria Napolitano (Cincinnati, Ohio) as the QU pairing combined to play stellar defense on the Red Foxes' stud Madeline Blais. Coming into the game averaging 15.4 points on 44.6 percent shooting, Blais was held in-check all evening, finishing with just 12 points (4-12 FG, 1-4 3FG) in just under 40 minutes of action.
Joining Ostergaard and Guastella in double figures was Driscoll who finished with another stellar all-around game against the Red Foxes including 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and one steal. In two games against Marist this season, Driscoll is averaging 12 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.5 BPG and 3.0 SPG.
Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, New Jersey) chipped in a solid 12-point effort as the senior guard completed her night with a season-high six rebounds while also matching her career-high with five assists. Gillian Abshire (Washington, D.C.) controlled the tempo and added nine points, four rebounds and four assists while also not turning the ball over for the seventh time in nine games. Napolitano also contributed significant minutes both offensively and defensively off the bench, tallying seven points and a career-high six rebounds while also pressuring the lethal shooting Blais throughout.
A key contributing factor to the Bobcats' victory was the 20 offensive rebounds (51 total) while holding Marist to just one offensive rebound for the game. The Bobcats' feasted on the boards which helped QU build a 23-2 advantage in second chance points throughout the 40 minutes of play. Quinnipiac also turned the ball over just nine times while passing out 16 assists. Marist, meanwhile, committed 15 turnovers for the game.
Marist was led by senior center Tori Jarosz as the reigning MAAC Player of the Week totaled 25 points and four blocks. A closer look at the stat sheet will show the Bobcats made it difficult as the MAAC's leader in field goal percentage shot below 50 percent (9-for-19) from the floor while she also was a non-factor on the boards (four rebounds; 9.1 season average) and turned the ball over four times in 37 minutes.
Quinnipiac's victory is the Bobcats' 12th straight and 19th win in the last 20 games. The Bobcats' win also gives QU (14-0 MAAC) a three-game lead and the tiebreaker over Marist (12-3 MAAC) in the MAAC standings. Now eight games ahead of sixth place Niagara (6-8 MAAC) with six MAAC games remaining, the win clichés a first round bye in the MAAC Tournament for the Bobcats.
The Quinnipiac women's basketball team returns to action at home on Sunday as the Bobcats host Canisius at 1:00 pm. Sunday's tilt against Canisius is also Quinnipiac's Senior Day as the six graduating seniors will be honored before the start of play.
Contact: Maxx McNall; maxx.mcnall@quinnipiac.edu
