Quinnipiac University
Rider
Gillian Abshire Matches Single-Game Record With 14 Assists in QU Women's Basketball's 91-53 Win at Rider
2/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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LAWRENCEVILLE, New Jersey – Those supporters of the MAAC just got a glimpse at what the top team is capable of when hitting on all cylinders. The 2014-15 MAAC Regular Season Champions Quinnipiac women's basketball took it to the Rider Broncs for a complete 40 minutes and scored a dominating, 91-53, victory on Thursday night from Alumni Gymnasium.
The victory extends the Bobcats' winning streak to 17 straight and 24 wins in the last 27 games. The 91 points scored is the fifth-most in a single-game since Quinnipiac became an NCAA Div. I program in 1998-99 and the 38-point deficit is also the third-highest margin of victory for the Bobcats since entering the D-I ranks.
Quinnipiac's (27-3, 19-0 MAAC) starters did whatever they wanted against the MAAC's second-best scoring defense Rider (11-18, 8-11 MAAC) for the second time this season. After recording a season-high 96 points in their previous meeting on Feb. 7, the Bobcats' lead unit completely dominated the action as all five seniors finished in double figures and combined for 62 points on 63.6 percent shooting (21-33 FG), 76.9 percent from three (10-13 3FG) and 100 percent at the line (10-10 FT) in just 18 combined minutes. Those five starters also combined for eight blocks and 17 assists against just four turnovers to complete the 38-point victory.
Heading up that stellar effort was Gillian Abshire (Washington, D.C.) who tied her own single-game program record with 14 assists. She added 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from three-point land to complete her first career double-double in 129 games (all starts). In 18 minutes, the nation's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio only improved her lead (4.02) as the senior point committed just one turnover.
A bevy of those feeds went to Val Driscoll (Stoughton, Massachusetts) who racked up her fourth straight double-double and the sixth of her career (18 points, 11 rebounds). Driscoll's 18 points came on a perfect day as the MAAC's leader in field goal percentage shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and 6-6 at the free throw line while she added five blocks in 18 minutes. The reigning MAAC Player of the Week has been unstoppable in the last five games, averaging 20 points (36-48 FG, 75%), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.
Samantha Guastella (Red Bank, New Jersey) was on her A game, finishing with 13 points (3-4 3FG), six rebounds, two steals and one block. The senior forward has now reached double figures in four straight games and also extended her streak to 27 straight games with at least one three-point field goal.
Nikoline Ostergaard (Vedbaek, Denmark) posted a solid all-around stat line with 10 points (2-2 3FG), four rebounds, two assists and one block while Jasmine Martin (Sicklerville, New Jersey) hit on four of her five attempts from the floor to finish with 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and one block.
Quinnipiac finished with five players in double figures (prev. Nov. 18, 2014 vs. Hampton) and had two players record double-doubles (prev. Feb. 9, 2015 vs. Iona) for the just the second time this season, respectively. Before this season, the Bobcats didn't have two players finish with double-doubles in the same game since Nov. 11, 2012 at James Madison.
The Bobcats were right on the Broncs from the jump in this one, scoring the first 17 points of the game while holding Rider scoreless for 5:46 and without a field goal for the first 6:14 of play.
Abshire helped establish the paint early as Guastella and Driscoll finished off easy looks at the rim before the three-point arc opened up and Martin, Ostergaard and Guastella cashed in with three straight makes from long distance.
With a comfortable 17-0 lead in-hand, Rider helped the Bobcats at bay for two straight minutes before the barrage continued with makes from Martin and Driscoll, followed by two three-point makes in transition from Abshire and Guastella to make it, 27-5.
Round three for the QU starters was another successful one as Abshire took over the game as she either scored or assisted on 10 straight Bobcat points, extending the lead to 44-12. Abshire drained her second and third three-point shots of the first half while feeding Guastella twice (once for three) and Driscoll again underneath for an easy bucket.
With Martin in foul trouble towards the end of the half, freshman Brittany Johnson (Pickerington, Ohio) entered and the 5-foot-11 guard snatched an offensive rebound and scored a putback layup. Driscoll continued her dominating first half with four straight points to give her team the 54-19 halftime lead.
Rider was hoping for a better start to the second half but Quinnipiac didn't let up as the Bobcats put together a 16-1 run to nearly mirror the same success as the opening stanza. Abshire assisted on five straight QU makes that included one three-pointer each from Martin and Ostergaard while Driscoll added an emphatic and-one that stretched the QU lead to 70-20.
The Bobcat lead grew to as many as 52 points in the second half before Coach Fabbri's bench finished off the 91-53 victory.
Quinnipiac's bench had another solid day, finishing with 29 points which is above their MAAC-leading bench average (26.4 PPG). Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut), Sarah Shewan (Russell, Ontario) and Jennifer Fay (Lynbrook, New York) each finished with six points while Brianah Ramos (Montgomery, New York) added four points and a career-high four steals.
The 63-point effort from the six Quinnipiac seniors continues to highlight the team's key to success as the Bobcats are now 19-0 this season when the six-member senior class scores at least 50 points. In addition, Quinnipiac added to their incredible record this season when leading at the half (20-0), holding their opponents to 69 points or less (23-0) and when outrebounding their opponent (16-0).
Quinnipiac concludes its four-game road stand with the 2014-15 regular season finale at Monmouth on Sunday with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 PM. Bobcat fans can catch the broadcast on ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app.
Contact: Maxx McNall; maxx.mcnall@quinnipiac.edu
