QU Women's Basketball Closes Out Play4Kay Shootout Wednesday Against Long Beach State

Wednesday, December 21

T-Mobile Arena - Las Vegas, NV

8:30 PM (EST)

Quinnipiac University

Long Beach State

QU Women's Basketball Closes Out Play4Kay Shootout Wednesday Against Long Beach State

12/21/2016 12:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

First All-Time Meeting Will Determine Third Place in Play4Kay Shootout

By: QU Sports Information

Play4Kay Shootout Third Place Game
Quinnipiac Bobcats (8-3) vs.
Long Beach State (8-5)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016 | 5:30 PM (8:30 PM EST)
Location: T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, Nev.
All-Time Series vs. Long Beach State: First Meeting

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YESTERDAY'S RESULT
Just six points separated Quinnipiac from No. 25/15 Oregon State to start the fourth quarter before the Beavers ultimately pulled away for a 75-60 win in the Play4Kay Shootout. Sarah Shewan impressed on the offensive end with a career high 19 points including 11 in the first quarter alone as she spotted the Bobcats a 10-point lead midway through the opening frame. In a back-and-forth contest throughout most of the first half, Quinnipiac managed to tie the score at 40-40 with less than 15 minutes remaining but three straight triples from Oregon State proved too much to overcome in the end despite battling back to a deficit as close as six points in the remainder of play. In the loss, Quinnipiac still managed to eclipse 60 points, becoming just the second team to do so against Oregon State all season as the Beavers came in with the fourth-best scoring defense (51.4) in the country.

MONDAY'S RESULT
Quinnipiac pitched a defensive gem in the opening round of the Play4Kay Shootout as the Bobcats defeated two-time defending Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Champion New Mexico State, 49-46, on Monday afternoon. The Bobcat defense was stellar throughout, holding an Aggie team that came in averaging 72.8 points per game, while Paula Strautmane (14 points, eight rebounds) powered an offensive attack that struggled throughout but managed enough for the win. Quinnipiac's win marked just the second victory scoring less than 50 points in program history. The only other instance Quinnipiac accomplished that feat came in the program's first-ever game, a 48-34 victory over Hartford on Jan. 27, 1975 (1,117 games ago).

REGULAR SEASON TOURNAMENT TUNE-UPS
This marks the third time in the last four seasons the Bobcats are appearing in a major national regular season tournament. Quinnipiac's first season in the MAAC (2013-14) saw the Bobcats open the campaign going 1-2 in the 2013 Preseason WNIT with the lone win coming over North Carolina A&T at home, 77-63. In 2014-15, Quinnipiac went 2-2 in the 2014 Hall of Fame Women's Challenge with a major win coming over Alabama, 73-66, at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Each of those appearances featured a spotlight showdown as the Bobcats traveled to No. 5 ranked Louisville in the 2013 Preseason WNIT and played No. 1 ranked Notre Dame in South Bend during the 2014 Hall of Fame Women's Challenge.

SCOUTING THE 49ERS

Long Beach State (8-5) has played the toughest schedule of any team in the Play4Kay tournament field through Tuesday and the 49ers played both (No. 22) South Florida and (receiving votes) Oklahoma State, two teams represented in the national polls, very well thus far in Vegas
Long Beach State is coming off a 24-9 season in 2015-16 that included a trip to the WNIT
The 49ers opened the Play4Kay Shootout with an upset win over No. 22 South Florida in the opening round, 73-68, as Long Beach State handed the Bulls their first loss of the season
That win for Long Beach State was their first win over a ranked opponent in two seasons
The very next day the 49ers again nearly pulled off a second straight upset as they took the Cowgirls to the final minute as the game remained within four points up until the final stages where they ultimately fell, 63-57
This year has been a season of streaks for the Beach as they rode a five-game win streak into their game against Oklahoma State, after snapping a four-game losing streak, which came on the heels of a season-opening three-game win streak
A senior-laded team, Long Beach State relies on a talented trio beginning with Madison Montgomery who comes in having recently been named the Big West Conference Player of the Week (Dec. 12) after tying her career high with 22 points at LMU
Montgomery averages 9.5 points on the season in just 23.5 minutes while adding 4.4 rebounds and a team-leading 17 blocks as she has compiled more than half of the 49ers' total of 31 on the season
Montgomery played big in the win over South Florida as she racked up 19 points (7-10 FG) in 26 minutes to lead all scorers
Senior Jewelyn Sawyer is a threat along the interior as she posts as average of 8.9 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game
Sawyer played well against Oklahoma State as she notched a team-leading 14 points in 29 minutes against the Sooners
Of note for the 49ers, much like the Bobcats, Long Beach State cycles in numerous players on any given night as the leading scorer on the team (Gigi Hascheff) comes in averaging just 10.0 points per game
Eleven different players for Long Beach State average double digit minutes per game while the team-leader in minutes played per game (Hascheff and Anna Kim) is averaging just 26.5 per contest
The 49ers attack the rim on a consistent basis as they come in ranking 22^nd in the nation in free throw attempts (246) on the season while Long Beach State, however, does not convert on many of those opportunities as they rank 304^th in free throw percentage (61.8) as a team
The three-point shot is also important to watch as all 11 of the consistent players for the 49ers can shot the three-ball, as evidenced by the fact that everyone in the rotation has attempted at least 20 three-pointers this season
As a team, Long Beach State has attempted the seventh-most three-pointers of any team in the nation (354) and averages the 16^th-most makes per game (8.9) in the country
The Beach has led the Big West in steals in each of the last three seasons and is currently sitting atop the league with 137 which also ranks them 14^th in the nation. The 49ers' average of 10.5 steals per game is good for 47^th in the nation
In addition to leading the league in steals, LBSU also leads the Big West in turnover margin (+6.4), offensive rebounds (16.0) and three-pointers made (116)

BIG NIGHT FOR SHEWAN
Sarah Shewan had herself a night against No. 25/15 Oregon State as she came up with a career high 19 points, including 11 in the first quarter, as she accounted for nearly one-third of the Bobcats' total 60 points scored on the evening. She eclipsed her previous career-best of 18 from a game against Army West Point in the season-opener to the 2015-16 season. For Shewan, the 19-point effort signaled her second double digit outing of the season while her 3-of-3 shooting from downtown gives her a new single-game career best for makes from three-point range. In her previous three games, Shewan had recorded just three points combined while she also came in with just two makes from behind the arc all season prior to finishing with three makes in her 20-minute scoring barrage.

BIG GAME PERFORMER
Adily Martucci continues to enjoy a breakout redshirt senior season for the Bobcats as she put together another solid outing against No. 25/15 Oregon State, tallying 12 points (5-12 FG) in 22 minutes while playing great defensively against All-American candidate Sydney Wiese. Martucci has shown a tendency to play her best against the best competition as she is averaging a team-leading 13.3 points per game while shooting 43.8 percent (14-32 FG) in the three games the Bobcats have played against high-major foes (Temple, Michigan State, Oregon State) this season. She went for eight points against the Owls, a career high 20-point night against the Spartans and most-recently 12 against the Beavers. For the season, Martucci leads the team with six double digit point performances.

THE RAREST OF FEATS
In a 49-46 win over New Mexico State to open the Play4Kay Shootout, Quinnipiac accomplished a feat seen before just once in the program's all-time history. Scoring just 49 points and defeating the Aggies by three, for just the second time in program history and first in the Div. I era (since 1998-99), the Bobcats won a game in which they scored less than 50 points. Incredibly, the Bobcats' last victory coming with less than 50 points scored came in the program's first-ever game, a 48-34 win over Hartford back on Jan. 27, 1975 (1,117 games ago).

IN THEIR DEFENSE
Quinnipiac's stellar defensive play carried the Bobcats in a 49-46 win over New Mexico State in the Play4Kay Shootout. The 46 points scored for the Aggies is the lowest total for a Bobcat opponent since allowing Fairfield to score 43 back on Jan. 15, 2015 (60 games ago). Turnovers loomed large as New Mexico State was forced into 28 while dishing out just four assists (0.14 assist/turnover ratio). New Mexico State came in leading the WAC in assist/turnover ratio (0.96) and hadn't coughed the ball up that many times since committing 31 turnovers on Nov. 19, 2015.

POWER PLAY FROM PAULA
Paula Strautmane's play has been inspired over the last six games as she is averaging 8.2 PPG (43.6 FG%) with 5.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.4 BPG in just 20.4 MPG. Strautmane is third on the team in scoring while she ranks second on the team in rebounding, assists, steals and blocks in that six-game span. After scoring 10+ points just once in the opening five games of 2016-17, she has tallied double figures in four of the last six. Her scoring has also been a key indicator to the Bobcats' overall success as Quinnipiac stands 5-0 on the season in games wherein Strautmane posts 10+ points.

TONS OF TOOLS IN HER ARSENAL
Aryn McClure has been an all-around force this season as she owns averages of 6.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks in 23.4 minutes per game. Out of the 11 schools in the MAAC, McClure is the only player in the league to lead her team in minutes (257), rebounds (80), steals (20) and blocks (18). She performed well against Oregon State as she went for nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 24 minutes.

TOP SPOT IN THE MAAC
Through 11 games this season, Quinnipiac holds the lead in eight different statistical categories while the Bobcats are ranked no worse than third out of 11 MAAC teams in 15 out of 21 major team statistics. Quinnipiac leads the MAAC in scoring offense (68.5), scoring defense (59.1), scoring margin (+9.4), field goal percentage defense (36.2), three-point percentage defense (26.5), assists (17.1), steals (12.3), turnover margin (+6.36) and assist/turnover ratio (1.06).

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 49-1 (.980) since the start of 2014-15 in games in which the Bobcats lead at the half.

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 +70 advantage (+6.4 per game; 26th in the nation) in turnover margin through 11 games in 2016-17. The Bobcats have turned the ball over 177 times while forcing the opposition into 247 turnovers (22.5 per game) which ranks 12^th in the nation. High-major foes Temple, Michigan State and Oregon State are the only opponents of 11 to have committed less than 20 turnovers in a single-game against the Bobcats. The pressure-packed team defensive approach has translated directly into points as the Bobcats have outscored their nine opponents 236-162 (+74) in points-off-turnovers for a per-game average of 21.5 compared to 14.9 for the opposition.

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 69.3 PPG while shooting 38.6 percent, dishing out 17.4 assists per game and totaling 13.6 steals per contest. Of the 10 consistent "Gold Rush" players, only one is averaging more than 22 MPG (Aryn McClure 22.4 MPG) while seven Bobcats are averaging at least 5.0 PPG. On the defensive end, Quinnipiac is holding opponents to just 59.3 PPG, 36.3 percent shooting, 28.3 percent from deep and just 101 assists to 205 turnovers for a miniscule 0.49 assist/turnover ratio.

RESUME BOOSTER
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).

BIG MOVERS IN THE MAAC
Since joining the MAAC in 2013-14, Quinnipiac has reeled off a record of 60-11 (.845) in all games against MAAC opponents and 53-9 (.855) in regular season MAAC games, both records that currently lead all teams in the MAAC. The Bobcats surpassed longtime conference power Marist who owns a mark of 54-16 (.771) against conference foes over the last three seasons and stand 48-14 (.774) 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.