QU Women's Basketball Hosts Siena for MAAC Home Opener on Saturday Afternoon

Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-1, 1-0 MAAC) vs.
Siena Saints (2-3, 1-0 MAAC)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 | 2 PM
Location: TD Bank Sports Center | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series vs. Siena: Quinnipiac leads 7-0
Last Meeting: W, 69-59 (February 5, 2016 at SIE)

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LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Following a difficult 71-68 road lose to Temple on Sunday, the Quinnipiac women's basketball team bounced back in a big way on Thursday with a 84-51 MAAC opening victory over Saint Peter's on the road. The 84 points scores for the Bobcats represents a season high while the defensive outing put forth was good enough for the lowest-scoring output from a Quinnipiac opponent all season. Now the Bobcats face a quick turnaround as Siena comes to Hamden for a Saturday afternoon MAAC matchup that'll tip at 2 PM. Quinnipiac has never lost to Siena (7-0 all-time) and look to move to 2-0 to start conference play.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS

Siena (2-3, 1-0 MAAC) is coming off a big home win over MAAC foe Fairfield on Thursday night, 67-52
The offense focuses heavily on the three-point shooting of Jackie Benitez, who has gotten off to one of the best starts of any player in the country through five games
The sophomore guard currently ranks third in the nation with 4.4 three-pointers made per contest
Benitez has canned 22 three-pointers at a 41.5 percent clip which has helped her rack up a conference-leading 21.4 points per game, ranking 15^th in the country in that category
A member of the MAAC's All-Rookie Team in 2015-16, while also earning three MAAC Rookie of the Week honors, Benitez led all freshmen in the conference in scoring (10.7), steals (1.7) and threes (58) last season
She has still managed to take a giant step forward at the start of 2016-17 but is heavily reliant on the three-point shot as 22 of her 32 total field goals made this season have come from beyond the arc
Benitez also averages 36.2 minutes per game which sits first on the team and third in the conference
Even with all the success so far on the year, Benitez is coming off easily her worst game of the season on Thursday against Fairfield as she struggled from the floor going just 3-of-15 overall and 2-for-12 from three-point range on her way to a season-low 10 points in 36 minutes
She still managed to dish out a season high six assists in the 15-point victory for the Saints
Coming in support of the gifted shooter is two other players averaging double figures including Meghan Donohue (13.0) and Kollyns Scarbrough (12.2)
Donohue is coming off her best game of the season as she posted 18 points (7-11 FG) and seven rebounds to leads the Saints in scoring in the win over Fairfield
On the season, Donohue has tallied 13.0 PPG on 60.5 percent shooting which easily leads the conference (next-closest player in the MAAC is shooting 54.3 percent)
Scarbrough is an all-around threat as she comes in with averages of 12.2 PPG, 41.9 FG%, 6.0 RPG and 1.6 SPG
A slasher with the capability of hitting a mid-range jumper, Scarbrough has the talent to score 20+ points on any given night
Denisha Petty-Evans is also a productive scorer as she averages 9.4 PPG on 41 percent shooting to go along with 2.0 steals per game
Deja Rawls has performed well at the point guard position as she comes in averaging 3.8 assists per game while hitting 52.6 percent of her shots
One glaring statistic that jumps out is the Saints stand with a -4.0 rebounding margin after being one of the best rebounding teams in the conference over the last several years
The Saints were picked third in the MAAC Preseason Poll, two spots behind the first place Bobcats

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SIENA

Quinnipiac has never lost to the Saints in seven all-time meetings
The two sides had never faced off prior to the Bobcats joining the league in 2013-14
The first-ever meeting came on Jan. 18, 2014 as the Bobcats won at home, 70-49, prior to taking a tight 76-66 road win on Feb. 20, 2014
Quinnipiac has come away with a couple sizable victories at home in the three meetings from the TD Bank Sports Center
Coupled with the 21-point victory in 2013-14, the Bobcats lit up the scoreboard taking a 94-52 victory early last season
The 42-point margin of victory stands as the second-largest in Quinnipiac's Div. I history while also representing the largest margin of defeat for Siena to a MAAC opponent in the program's history

POINTS ALL AROUND
Five Bobcats – Vanessa Udoji 16, Adily Martucci 13, Paige Warfel 11, Jen Fay 10 and Paula Strautmane 10 – hit double figures in the box score in a dominating 84-51 road win over Saint Peter's. This marked the first time since a road win over Rider back on Feb. 26, 2015 (44 games ago) that five Bobcats finished with at least 10 points in the same game.

FRESHMAN FRESHMAN!
Grasping an opportunity for extended minutes, a pair of freshmen took full advantage as Vanessa Udoji and Paige Warfel turned in a pair of stellar outings to highlight the 84-51 victory at Saint Peter's. Udoji went for 16 points (4-7 FG, 2-5 3FG, 6-6 FT) in 25 minutes to lead the way for the Bobcats while Warfel finished with 11 points and seven rebounds (all offensive) in 19 minutes. Heading into tonight's game with just three combined points (Udoji 3, Warfel 0) in 22 minutes between the pair, Udoji and Warfel both capitalized combining for 27 points and 13 rebounds in the 33-point victory.

SHE'S A THORN-TON IN THEIR SIDE
Edel Thornton posted one of the best games of her young career in an 84-51 road win at Saint Peter's as she tallied five points to go along with her seven assists against no turnovers in 17 minutes. Thornton's seven-assist outing is good enough for a career high as well as the most assists for any Bobcat in a game this season. In fact, Thornton dished out the most assists in a single-game without a turnover since the program's all-time assist leader Gillian Abshire posted 11 assists and no turnovers in a home win over Iona on Feb. 9, 2015 (50 games ago).

HAVE A DAY JEN FAY
Temple's hot shooting spoiled what was the best game of redshirt sophomore Jen Fay's young caree as she finished with a career and game high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, 3-of-5 from three and 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Fay added six rebounds and two steals in just 25 minutes of action as she easily surpassed her previous career-best total of 11. After scoring 10+ points just once in her freshman season, Fay has notched a team-leading four straight double digit outings for the Bobcats. Her 26 points also represents the highest single-game point total by a Bobcat since Samantha Guastella went for 28 in a home win over Siena on Dec. 5, 2014 (66 games ago).

STREAK BUSTED
Quinnipiac has enjoyed a great deal of success over the past three seasons when building a first half lead. After starting 2016-17 with a mark of 2-0 when owning a halftime lead, the Bobcats recently saw one of their most impressive streaks in program history come to an end in a 71-68 loss at Temple. Quinnipiac's three-point loss signaled the first time the Bobcats had lost a game in which they held a halftime lead since the 2014 MAAC Championship game against Marist. The undefeated streak, which lasted over the course of three seasons, came to an end at 45 straight wins for the Bobcats when holding a halftime lead. Quinnipiac went undefeated in both 2014-15 (24-0) and 2015-16 (19-0) and for the first two games of 2016-17 before suffering the defeat. They now stand with a mark of 46-1 since the start of 2016-17 in games in which the Bobcats lead at the half.

VOTERS TAKING NOTICE
Voters are beginning to take notice of Quinnipiac and their 4-1 start to 2016-17 as the Bobcats earned the No. 5 ranking in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll on Tuesday. The Top 5 ranking comes just one week following the program's highest-ranking in the College Insider Poll at No. 4. The following day, Quinnipiac claimed the No. 10 spot in the ESPNW Mid-Major Poll which marked just the second time in program history the Bobcats were ranked in the espnW.com poll. In the College Insider version, Quinnipiac has improved the most spots week-to-week of any team in the poll as the Bobcats vaulted up from No. 13 in the preseason poll to their current No. 4 position just two weeks into the season. The markup also is reflected in the total points as Quinnipiac checked in with 632 points this week compared to 345 in the preseason poll for a nation-leading +287 improvement.

SHOOTER'S TOUCH
Even with the 5-1 start, Quinnipiac struggled to find their shot in the first two games of the season as the Bobcats started the season just 36 percent (45-125 FG) from the floor and 26.8 percent (11-41 3FG) from three for 64.5 points per game. Those numbers have improved considerably in the last four games as the Bobcats have since shot 40.7 percent (111-273 FG) overall and 33 percent (36-109 3FG) from deep on their way to 76.5 PPG as a team.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
One of the most telling statistical trends all season for the Bobcats has been in the turnover department as Quinnipiac owns a +45 advantage (+7.5 per game; 17^th in the nation) in turnover margin through six games in 2016-17. The Bobcats have turned the ball over just 83 times while forcing the opposition into 128 turnovers (21.3 per game) which ranks 38^th in the nation. Temple is the only one out of the six opponents for Quinnipiac to have committed less than 20 turnovers in a single-game. The pressure-packed team defensive approach has translated directly into points as the Bobcats have outscored their five opponents 129-83 (+46) in points-off-turnovers for a per-game average of 21.5 compared to 13.8 for the opposition.

THAT 70+ SHOW
Since the 2007-08 season, Quinnipiac is 120-15 (.889) in games wherein the Bobcats score 70 or more points, including a 13-1 mark in 2015-16 and 42-2 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 Since 2007-08
Season                                                                 Record
2016-17 3-0
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 (10 Seasons)                                                120-15 (.889)

BOY CAN THE BOBCATS PROTECT THE BALL
Even after the graduation of the program's all-time assists leader Gillian Abshire in 2015, Quinnipiac has prolonged their supreme proficiency with the ball. The Bobcats predicate smart passes and protecting the ball on offense and the stats certainly reflect that trend as Quinnipiac has produced a conference-leading assist/turnover ratio in four of the last five seasons while ranking Top 50 in the nation three times. Through six games in 2016-17, the pattern is already showing through as the Bobcats lead the MAAC and rank 23^rd in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.31).

Assist/Turnover Ratio Last Five Seasons
Season	Games	W-L	Ast	APG	TO	TPG	A/TO	NCAA Rank	Conf Rank
2012-13	33	30-3	557	16.9	477	14.5	1.17	10th	1st (NEC)
2013-14	34	21-13	554	16.3	446	13.1	1.24	20th	2nd (MAAC)
2014-15	35	31-4	685	19.6	465	13.3	1.47	5th	1st (MAAC)
2015-16	34	25-9	523	15.4	507	14.9	1.03	51st	2nd (MAAC)
2016-17	6	5-1	109	18.2	83	13.8	1.31	23rd	1st (MAAC)
Total	142	112-30	2428	17.1	1978	13.9	1.23

RETURN OF THE GOLD RUSH
Injuries forced Quinnipiac out of their rotation but now back at full strength, Quinnipiac has utilized their "Gold Rush" subbing strategy to the fullest extent. In this approach first developed in the team's 30-3 season in 2012-13, Quinnipiac chooses to sub five players in-and-out of the game at a time throughout entire 40-minute contests. Since making the move back to the traditional approach, Quinnipiac is averaging 76.5 PPG while shooting 40.7 percent, dishing out 19.5 assists and totaling 13.5 steals per contest. Of the 10 consistent "Gold Rush" players, only one is averaging more than 20 MPG (Aryn McClure 20.5 MPG) while eight Bobcats are averaging at least 5.0 PPG. On the defensive end, Quinnipiac is holding opponents to just 59 PPG, 35.8 percent shooting, 27 percent from deep and just 41 assists to 86 turnovers for a miniscule 0.48 assist/turnover ratio.

MARTUCCI HITTING HER MARK
The Bobcats' most-consistent performer all season has been Adily Martucci who comes in leading the team in scoring at 11.5 PPG through six games in 2016-17. Martucci has not finished a game with less than eight points while she ranks second on the team (first among guards) in overall shooting (48.2 percent; 27-56 FG) and first from behind the arc (45.5 percent; 10-22 3FG). She is doing all her damage despite playing just 23.7 MPG, putting up a season high 15 points in just 17 minutes against Northeastern (11/20).

MORGAN MAKING IT HAPPEN
Morgan Manz has taken a leading role this season for the first time in her career as she ranks third on the team in scoring at 8.8 PPG. She paved the way with 16 points while shooting an impressive 6-of-9 overall and 3-for-5 from three-point range in a 78-55 road victory over Holy Cross (11/16). Coming into the Bobcats' 63-60 road win over Dayton where she posted a game-high 19 points, Manz owned a career-best point total of 15 and bested that mark in consecutive games.

BIG MAAC AWARD
Aryn McClure started the season taking home the league's first MAAC Player of the Week honor of 2016-17 as well as the first of her career. She also took home College Sports Madness' MAAC Player of the Week award, sweeping the week in what was a masterful performance from McClure over the 2-0 week. McClure started with her fifth career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and a career high five blocks in the win over FGCU. She followed that up with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the comeback win over Dayton, netting 11 of her 12 points in the second half.

WHAT A WIN!
Trailing 17 points with 14:30 remaining, the Bobcats gutted out the largest comeback in the program's Division I history as Quinnipiac came-from-behind to defeat fellow mid-major power Dayton, 63-60, in Ohio on Sunday, Nov. 13. The 17-point Quinnipiac comeback sets a new Div. I record, one better than a 16-point margin overcome in a 68-61 overtime win over Robert Morris back on Feb. 19, 2000.

TURNAROUND FOR THE AGES
Playing in front of a ravenous home fanbase of nearly 2,000 strong cheering for a Dayton team just two seasons removed from a run into the 2015 Elite Eight, the Bobcats were all but out of it trailing 46-29 with 4:30 left in the third quarter. After shooting a paltry 11-for-41 (26.8 percent) overall up to the 4:30 mark of the third quarter, Quinnipiac was nothing short of incredible for the final 14:30 of play. Led by the senior tandem of Morgan Manz and Adily Martucci, the Bobcats finished 13-of-26 (50 percent) in what amounted to a 20-point swing (34-14 run) to end the game.

SPLASH ZONE
The lynchpin behind the victory over Dayton was a career game from Morgan Manz as she posted a monster total going for a career high 19 points (7-15 FG, 3-9 3FG) in a career best 31 minutes which included a decisive bucket in the waning minutes to help seal the win. Eight of her game-high 19 points came in the fourth quarter including a pair of three-pointers and the huge jumper that put the Bobcats up three with 21 seconds to go.

RESUME BOOSTER
Now 4-0 on the season, Quinnipiac opened 2016-17 with two of their most impressive wins in program history. Starting with a 66-56 win over perennial mid-major power Florida Gulf Coast, the Bobcats' 63-60 road win over Dayton comes against a Flyer team that had won six consecutive Atlantic-10 Championships from 2010-15. Between the Bobcats' first two opponents, Quinnipiac defeated a pair of teams that have combined for 453 wins (FGCU: 246-52; Dayton: 207-82), 50.3 wins per season (FGCU: 27.3; Dayton: 23), 77.1 winning percentage, 10 conference titles and five NCAA Tournament victories in the last nine seasons (since 2007-08).

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, then-No. 13 Quinnipiac put on a defensive clinic in holding then-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.

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 54-6 (.900) in games played at home. In just the last three seasons (since 2014-15), Quinnipiac owns a mark of 29-2 (.935). 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.

BIG MOVERS IN THE MAAC
Since joining the MAAC in 2013-14, Quinnipiac has reeled off a record of 59-11 (.843) in all games against MAAC opponents and 52-9 (.852) 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 54-15 (.783) against conference foes over the last three seasons and stand 48-13 (.787) in regular season MAAC play.

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

Schedule

QU Women's Basketball Hosts Siena for MAAC Home Opener on Saturday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jen Fay

Brittany Johnson

Morgan Manz

Adily Martucci

Aryn McClure

Paula Strautmane

Edel Thornton

Vanessa Udoji

Paige Warfel

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QU Women's Basketball Hosts Siena for MAAC Home Opener on Saturday Afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jen Fay

Brittany Johnson

Morgan Manz

Adily Martucci

Aryn McClure

Paula Strautmane

Edel Thornton

Vanessa Udoji

Paige Warfel

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