QU Women's Basketball Heads to Dayton for Spotlight Showdown on Sunday

Sunday, November 13

UD Arena - Dayton, OH

2:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Dayton

QU Women's Basketball Heads to Dayton for Spotlight Showdown on Sunday

11/12/2016 5:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Live Video Live Stats Live Audio - AM 1220 WQUN QU Game Notes vs Dayton

Two Heavyweight Mid-Major Programs Set to Battle for First Time Since 1998

By: QU Sports Information

Quinnipiac Bobcats (1-0) at
Dayton Flyers (0-0)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 | 2 PM
Location: UD Arena | Dayton, Ohio
All-Time Series vs. Dayton: Dayton leads 1-0
Last Meeting: L, 66-44 (Nov. 21, 1998 at Dayton)

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SEASON OPENER
Fresh off an impressive season-opening 66-56 home win over Florida Gulf Coast in a clash between two of the premier mid-major programs in the nation, the Quinnipiac women's basketball team turns around for another challenging non-conference foe at Dayton on Sunday. A consistent threat in the Atlantic-10, Dayton saw a streak of six straight conference titles end last season but the Flyers still made a trip to the WNIT, extending its streak to nine straight seasons advancing to a national postseason tournament. With one showcase win already in the books, the Bobcats have another huge opportunity to make some noise in a tough non-conference slate.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS

Realizing the notoriety and stature of the Dayton women's basketball program, it's difficult to view last season's 14-15 record as nothing more than a fluke
A losing season in 2015-16 still included some big wins over Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Maine, Louisville and Princeton
Where the Dayton season came undone was in the final seven-game span wherein the Flyers finished 1-6 including a 66-62 loss in the Atlantic 10 playoffs to George Mason
That defeat in the conference postseason tournament was Dayton's first loss in the A-10 playoffs since 2009
A bevy of experience returns for Dayton in 2016-17 as the Flyers graduate just one starter from last season and return nine players who appeared in at least 25 games
Four double digit scorers from a season ago all return as Jenna Burdette (11.5 PPG), Saich Grant-Allen (11.1 PPG), Lauren Cannatelli (10.4 PPG) and Kelley Austria (10.4 PPG) give Dayton plenty of depth to rely upon this season
Many fans will remember the 2014-15 Dayton Flyers' squad that became the best in the program's history
After claiming a sixth consecutive A-10 title, the Flyers earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and scored wins over No. 10 seed Iowa State, No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Louisville to advance all the way to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history before falling to No. 1 UConn
Shauna Green enters her first season as the head coach of the Flyers as she takes over for longtime coach Jim Jabir who stepped down last season due to health concerns
Jenna Burdette posted a team-best .404 three-point percentage last season which ranked first in the Atlantic 10 last season
Burdette is an all-around threat as she is coming off a season where she averaged a team-leading 11.5 points to go along with 4.8 APG (fifth in Atlantic 10), .813 free throw percentage (fifth), 1.4 assist/turnover ratio (10^th) and 1.4 three-point field goals per game (15^th)
Since the 2009-10 season, Dayton is 121-13 (.903) when scoring 70 points or more, including a 10-2 record in 2015-16
Dayton's home court draws quite the following as the Flyers season-opening crowd of 10,159 on Nov. 13, 2015 against Yale went down as the seventh-most attended game in the nation last season
With an average home attendance of 2,890, Dayton ranked 39^th out of 349 Division I programs last season
Size is definitely a major advantage for Dayton as nine Flyers stand at least six-feet tall including Saicha Grant-Allen who stands an imposing 6-foot-5 as a senior center

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST DAYTON

These two sides have met only once and it came all the way back in the Bobcats' first season as a Division I program
Back on Nov. 21, 1998, Quinnipiac visited Dayton and fell 66-44 in the only meeting in the series history

MISSION COMPLETE
After a pair of thrilling meetings in the two seasons prior, the Bobcats finally broke through against Florida Gulf Coast as Quinnipiac dominated defensively in a 66-56 season-opening win at home over the fellow mid-major power. In a matchup pitting two programs ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll, No. 13 Quinnipiac put on a defensive clinic in holding No. 7 FGCU to just 20-of-61 shooting from the floor and 12 percent (3-25 3FG) from three. Quinnipiac's defensive outing from the three-point line is commendable considering FGCU ranked sixth in the nation with 9.3 made three-pointers per game in 2015-16.

BALANCING ACT
Quinnipiac employed a well-balanced stat sheet that saw three Bobcats – Adily Martucci, Aryn McClure and Brittany Johnson – each finish with 14 points in the win. Martucci shot well all day going 6-for-12 from the floor while McClure was solid all around with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five blocks (fifth career double-double) and Johnson's 14-point night represented a career high for the junior guard.

THE 2015-16 REGULAR SEASON
Quinnipiac finished 22-7 overall and 17-3 in league play to earn the 2015-16 MAAC Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Quinnipiac clinched its second straight MAAC Regular Season title with a win over Iona in a winner-take-all regular season finale. The regular season title was the Bobcats' third in the four years dating back to the 2012-13 campaign where Quinnipiac was crowned the NEC Regular Season Champions. The Bobcats became just the second MAAC team, joining Marist in 2004-05, to start their conference schedule with three losses and win the remainder of their games to take home the MAAC Regular Season title outright. Quinnipiac entered the MAAC Tournament winners of 17 straight games which was the sixth-longest streak in the nation.

HIGH-POWERED OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Quinnipiac's coaching staff has long preached an up-tempo offensive system and the stats certainly reflect its success as the Bobcats have led their respective conference in scoring offense and assists in four of the last five seasons. Starting in the final two years of the Northeast Conference, Quinnipiac averaged an NEC-leading 67.9 points per game in 2011-12 and 70.5 PPG in 2012-13. That success carried over since joining the MAAC as the Bobcats ranked second in the league at 73.4 PPG in 2013-14 before leading the way again in 2014-15 with a league-record 78.5 PPG as well as 67.5 PPG in 2015-16. Over the last five seasons, Quinnipiac's cumulative scoring average is 71.6 PPG while the team dishes out 16.6 assists per game across the 168-game span.

Scoring Offense Last Five Seasons
Season                                                                 Games      W-L     Pts      PPG    Ast     APG
2011-12                                                                 32              22-10   2173    67.9     470      14.7
2012-13                                                                 33              30-3     2327    70.5     557      16.9
2013-14                                                                 34              21-13   2494    73.4     554      16.3
2014-15                                                                 35              31-4     2749    78.5     685      19.6
2015-16                                                                 34              25-9     2294    67.4     523      15.4
Total                                                                      168            129-39 12,037 71.6     2789    16.6

THAT 70'S SHOW
Since the 2007-08 season, Quinnipiac is 117-15 (.886) in games wherein the Bobcats score 70 or more points, including a 13-1 mark in 2015-16 and 41-2 combined since 2014-15. During 2012-13 (18-0) and 2010-11 (8-0), the Bobcats rolled to undefeated records in each respective season when reaching the scoring plateau.

Quinnipiac's Record in Games Scoring 70 Points or More
Season                                                                 Record
2015-16                                                                 13-1
2014-15                                                                 28-1
2013-14                                                                 14-6
2012-13                                                                 18-0
2011-12                                                                 9-3
2010-11                                                                 8-0
2009-10                                                                 5-2
2008-09                                                                 11-1
2007-08                                                                 11-1
Total (Nine Seasons)                                            117-15 (.886)

FOR THE FIRST TIME
An incredible all-around performance from the Bobcats helped lift Quinnipiac to a dominating 90-44 home win over Maine in the WNIT First Round (3/18). Quinnipiac's first national postseason victory saw the Bobcats put up 90+ points for the second time last season (94 vs. Siena – Jan. 24, 2016). Out of all 32 WNIT First Round contests, Quinnipiac's 46-point margin of victory is the largest in the whole round as the next-closest was Drake's 95-59 win over Sacred Heart. Quinnipiac also put up the fourth-most points of any team in First Round action.

SUPER SIZED WIN
Hosting a national postseason game for just the second time ever, Quinnipiac improved to 1-3 all-time in the WNIT with the 46-point margin which goes down as the largest single-game victory in the Bobcats' Division I program history (since 1998-99). During the 2007-08 season, Quinnipiac defeated Brown (85-41) and Wagner (79-35) by 44-point margins which stood as the previous single-game record before Friday night's 46-point drubbing over Maine.

HITTING THAT MAGIC NUMBER
Quinnipiac's 81-63 win over Manhattan (2/23) clinched yet another 20-win campaign for Head Coach Tricia Fabbri. The 10^th20-win season in program history made it five in-a-row as well as the seventh in Fabbri's 21-year coaching career at Quinnipiac. Currently, Quinnipiac is one of just 32 teams across the nation, one of just 15 mid-major programs and one of just three to score five straight 20-win seasons while being a member of two different conferences. Over the last five seasons, Quinnipiac stands with a record of 130-39 for a .769 win percentage which ranks as the 16^th-best overall mark in the nation.

BIG MOVERS IN THE MAAC
Since joining the MAAC in 2013-14, Quinnipiac has reeled off a record of 58-11 (.841) in all games against MAAC opponents and 51-9 (.850) in regular season MAAC games, both records that currently lead all teams in the MAAC. The Bobcats just recently surpassed longtime conference power Marist who owns a mark of 53-15 (.779) against conference foes over the last three seasons and stand 47-13 (.783) in regular season MAAC play.

HOME LOVIN
The TD Bank Sports Center, home of the Quinnipiac Bobcats, has long been one of the most difficult arenas to play at in the country. Since the 2012-13 season, Quinnipiac owns a record of 53-6 (.898) in games played at home. In just the last three seasons (since 2014-15), Quinnipiac owns a mark of 28-2 (.933). That mark easily ranks as the best in the MAAC while it also places them with the 13th-best home win percentage in the nation over the last three seasons. The Bobcats' 14-0 mark at home in 2014-15 made them one of just 14 teams in the nation to finish with an undefeated home record.

THE ULTIMATE CLOSERS
Quinnipiac has enjoyed a great deal of success over the past two seasons when building a first half lead. Currently 19-0 on the season in games in which the Bobcats lead at halftime, the Bobcats are riding a 43-game winning streak since the start of the 2014-15 season in games that Quinnipiac holds the halftime lead. The last game in which Quinnipiac led at halftime and lost was the 2014 MAAC Championship Game to Marist.

PERFECT PAULA
Playing a key role in the WNIT First Round onslaught for Quinnipiac was Paula Strautmane who was perfect from the floor, going 10-of-10 for the game on her way to 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks in just 21 minutes of action. Appearing in her first career national postseason game, the bright lights and pressure proved to be an afterthought for the rookie as she tallied her third career double-double and set a single-game program record for the most made field goals in a game (10) without a miss. The previous record of 8-for-8 was shared by two Bobcats – Katie Caputi (Jan. 31, 2002) and Kim Misiaszek (Jan. 13, 2001).

GOOD POINT
In what was a truly dynamic all-around effort against Maine, the Bobcats shot a season-high 60.3 percent (38-63 FG) from the floor and 47.8 percent (11-23 3FG) from three-point range while also reaching the 90-point milestone for the second time this season. In the last three seasons (since 2013-14), Quinnipiac has scored 90+ points seven times, in the previous 15 seasons the Bobcats scored 90+ points just three times since joining Div. I. In addition, the last time Quinnipiac shot better than 60.3 percent in a single-game came back on Jan. 14, 2012 in an 85-73 victory over St. Francis University that saw the Bobcats go 60.8 percent from the floor.

SEEING DOUBLE
Both Paula Strautmane (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Sarah Shewan (15 points, 10 rebounds) went for double-doubles in the 90-44 WNIT First Round win over Maine (3/18). Strautmane's 21-points are a season-high for the freshman while Shewan recorded a double-double for the first time in her 67-game career. For Quinnipiac, it marked the first time two Bobcats notched a double-double in the same game since Val Driscoll (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Gillian Abshire (11 points, 15 assists) went to work at Rider on Feb. 26, 2015.

POSTSEASON PRODUCTION
Sarah Shewan's career-high 24-point performance on 10-of-13 shooting (76.9 percent) in the MAAC Quarterfinals against Niagara (3/4) was significant on many levels. The 24 points is the most by a Bobcat in a conference tournament game since Erin Kerner went for 29 back on March 7, 2009 against Monmouth in a 69-67 loss in the NEC Quarterfinals. Shewan's point total represents the most for a Bobcat in a MAAC Tournament game since joining the conference in 2013-14 while it also stands as the most by a Bobcat in a conference postseason victory since Krystal Pressley tallied 25 back on March 5, 2005 against Monmouth in a 75-68 win in the NEC Quarterfinal round.

WINNING WAYS
Quinnipiac graduating its winningest four-year senior class in program history as Maria Napolitano and Katie Carroll picked up their 107^th win to put them past the 2014-15 senior class for the most career wins by a single class in program history. The senior tandem finished with a mark of 107-29 (.787) since the start of the 2012-13 season. The Bobcats' 2014-15 senior class racked up a record of 104-30 (.776) and is now the second-winningest four-year class in program history.

EMERGING INTO A STAR
Named MAAC Rookie of the Week a conference-leading four times in 2015-16, McClure's all-around averages in points (8.6), rebounds (6.8), field goal percentage (45.7), assists (2.0), blocks (1.5) and steals (1.3) per game played a large role in the Bobcats' transcendent second half of the season that was highlighted by a 19-game winning streak. Standing as the only player in the MAAC to lead her respective team in minutes (25.3), rebounding and blocks, McClure was incredible in averaging 10.2 PPG (46.7 FG%), 7.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 1.5 BPG across the Bobcats' unbeaten streak. Her production down the stretch has been unmatched on the team as she posted a line of 11.8 PPG while leading the team in field goal percentage (56.9), rebounding (8.0) and blocked shots (15) in the final eight games of the 2015-16 regular season as she shot worse than 50 percent just one time in the final eight contests down the stretch. Named the 2015-16 Preseason MAAC Freshman of the Year by College Sports Madness, McClure officially was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year, becoming just the second Bobcat in program history to take a conference yearly rookie award.

AWARD WEEK FOR ARYN
Aryn McClure was busy racking up three individual weekly awards the week of Feb. 15 after averaging 18 points on 61.5 percent shooting with eight rebounds for the Bobcats. McClure started the week with her fourth MAAC Rookie of the Week honor this season, passing Siena's Jackie Benitez for the most rookie weekly honors of any player in the conference. She followed with the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week, becoming the first Bobcat to take home that award this season and concluded with a prestigious National Freshman of the Week award handed out by the USBWA. McClure's national rookie of the week award marks the first time in program history that a Bobcat has taken home the honor.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Aryn McClure was incredible in a regular season home win over Iona (2/12) and the stats certainly reflect her stellar outing as she compiled a career and game-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 37 minutes. McClure's first career 20+ scoring night also stands as the most points for a Quinnipiac freshman in a single-game since Courtney Kaminski went for 23 against Sacred Heart on Feb. 27, 2007.

SHOULDERING THE LOAD
In her rookie season, Paula Strautmane posted a great cumulative all-around stat line of 8.8 PPG (48.3 FG%, 45.7 3FG%, 71.4 FT%), 6.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.4 BPG and 1.1 SPG while playing just 21.3 MPG in 2015-16. A three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week honoree, Strautmane tied for the second-most weekly rookie honors in the conference. After not reaching double figures for the first 12 games of her career, Strautmane scored 10+ points in 14 of the last 22 games overall. During the 19-game win streak, Strautmane led the Bobcats in scoring while improving her numbers across the board: 11.1 PPG (48.2 FG%, 50 3FG%, 75.5 FT%), 6.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 BPG and 1.3 SPG. An even more telling figure is to look at the beginning of the season as Strautmane scored just 29 points (2.9 PPG) in the first 10 games of the season. Since then, she scored a team-leading 271 points (11.3 PPG) while shooting 106-of-205 (51.7 FG%) from the floor. Her production also peaked in the biggest games of the season as she averaged 12.8 PPG (59.5 FG%), 7.3 RPG and 2.8 APG in four combined games down the stretch of the regular season against the No. 2-4 seeds Iona (twice), Marist and Fairfield.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK RUN
The Quinnipiac women's basketball freshmen went on a complete tear when it comes to MAAC Rookie of the Week awards last season. Aryn McClure (four), Paula Strautmane (three) and Brittany Martin (one) combined for eight honors last season, while the Bobcats won a MAAC record five straight rookie of the week awards. Prior to the Bobcats' record-breaking streak, the last time a team had four straight rookie of the week winners came back in 2012-13 when Iona's Joy Adams claimed four straight two different times in her rookie season while Quinnipiac's three total players who've won rookie of the week honors (Strautmane, McClure and Brittany Martin) is the most since Siena had three rookies win weekly awards back in 2013-14.

POINTS FOR HER ARE A SHEW-AN
One of the most improved Bobcats all last season was Sarah Shewan as she tied for second on the team in scoring at 8.8 PPG. She finished second behind the Bobcats' leading scorer Maria Napolitano in double digit scoring games with 13 while she posted a season-long string of three straight 10+ scoring games in early January. Shewan posted 10+ points in 10 of her last 21 games overall (47.6 percent). A big key for Shewan through the season was her focus on the interior as she has only attempted 32 three-pointers (9-32 3FG) in the last 21 games (1.5 per game) compared to 38 three-point attempts (2.9 per game) in the first 13 games of 2015-16.

STEADY PLAY AT THE POINT
Carly Fabbri settled nicely into the Bobcats' point guard position nicely as she racked up 89 assists to 40 turnovers last season for the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the MAAC and Top 25 in the nation at 2.23. Fabbri racked up 67 assists (3.4 per game) against just 27 turnovers in her last 20 games for an assist/turnover ratio of 2.48. She also went turnover-free in eight of those 20 games.

MO MANZ, MORE PROBLEMS
One of the most important players all last season was the play of Morgan Manz as the senior forward finished second on the team in field goal percentage (47.2) while leading the way in three-point percentage (45.1). Manz led the MAAC in three-point percentage last season and would have bene among the nation's leaders in three-point percentage if she met the two made three-pointers per game minimum average (Manz averaged 1.2 per game). If she were to average 2+ three's per game, Manz's 45.1 three-point percentage would have put her seventh in the nation among all players in NCAA Div. I.

MAJOR DONATIONS AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Two players not known for making their free throws (at least to start the season) – Brittany Johnson and Aryn McClure – made profound improvements at the free throw line as the season has gone along. After starting the season 11-for-29 (37.9 percent) in the first 10 games of 2015-16, Johnson has since made 41-of-59 free throws (69.5 percent) over the final 22 games including a streak of 17 straight (most of any Bobcat last season) that was broken at Fairfield (1/22). McClure, meanwhile, started 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) through the first nine games of the season and finished 49-for-74 (66.2 percent) in the last 24 games including a streak of 12 straight makes that was snapped at Canisius (1/17).

B-JOHN BOARDING AMONG THE BEST
One of the biggest surprise on last year's Quinnipiac team was the rebounding at the guard position out of Brittany Johnson. Through 34 games, Johnson sat third on the Bobcats with 57 offensive rebounds (1.67 per game) while also first among the Bobcat guards in rebounds per game (3.2).

NEW FACES IN THE CROWD
Quinnipiac added five true freshmen in 2016-17 (Vanessa Udoji, Taylor Herd, Jaden Ward, Paige Warfel and Katie Grant) as the depth of talent on this year's team rivals any in the history of the program. Ward (6'0), Warfel (6'0) and Grant (6'4) all stand at least six-feet tall while Udoji is a 5-foot-11 wing. Ward, Warfel and Udoji add size, playmaking, shooting and ball handling skills at the forward position while Grant immediately becomes the tallest player on the roster and a shot-blocking threat in the low post. Herd is coming off consecutive season-ending ACL injuries and is ready to contribute immediately at the point guard position in the Bobcats' fast break, up-tempo style of basketball.