QU Women’s Basketball Leans on Defense to Throttle Manhattan, 81-38

Tuesday, January 10

Hamden, CT

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

14-3, 7-0MAAC

Manhattan

5-11, 1-6MAAC

Manhattan

Quinnipiac

QU Women’s Basketball Leans on Defense to Throttle Manhattan, 81-38

1/10/2017 11:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Quinnipiac Finishes With Fewest Points Allowed to a MAAC Opponent Since Joining the League in 2013-14

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – Nothing was getting in the way of a Quinnipiac women's basketball barrage on Tuesday night as the Bobcats dismantled the Manhattan Jaspers, 81-38, from the TD Bank Sports Center to pick up their sixth straight victory.

Quinnipiac's (14-3, 7-0 MAAC) unbeaten streak hitting six games was a mere side note in this one-sided affair as the Jaspers' (5-11, 1-6 MAAC) 38 points signal the fewest points allowed by the Bobcats to a MAAC opponent since joining the league in 2013-14 (77 games). The last time Quinnipiac allowed fewer points in a league game back on Jan. 23, 2012 in a 71-34 road win over Sacred Heart.

Now a member of the NCAA Division I ranks for 19 seasons (since 1998-99), tonight's score marked just the fifth time in 559 games as a Div. I program that the Bobcats have allowed fewer than 40 points to an opponent. The 38 points allowed stands as the fewest point scored by a Bobcat opponent since defeating Saint Francis (PA), 72-33, in the 2013 Northeast Conference Championship (March 17, 2013).

The stifling defensive effort, combined with steady offensive play throughout, led to what became the fourth-largest victory for Quinnipiac since joining Div. I. The 43-point victory falls three short of the Bobcats' 90-44 WNIT First Round win over Maine last season for the largest win in the program's Div. I history. The margin does stand as the largest to a MAAC foe and the most to a conference opponent since defeating Wagner 79-35 (Feb. 9, 2008) as a member of the NEC.

Pressuring the inexperienced Manhattan backcourt right from the jump, Quinnipiac finished with new season-bests in points allowed (38), field goal percentage defense (30.4), opponent's free throws made (six) and opponent's free throws attempted (11). In a matchup pitting the best scoring defense in the MAAC (59.6 points allowed) against the lowest-scoring offense in the league (53.9 points per game), the Bobcats owned the advantage pregame and certainly held true to their season-long dominance on the defensive end.

Providing the scoring on the night included a list of 10 Bobcats that finished the night with at least four points scored. Paula Strautmane (Riga, Latvia) led the way once again for the Bobcats as she tallied a game-high 16 points (7-12 FG) with three steals in 17 minutes. Strautmane finished with a team-leading scoring total for the second straight game while she hit double figures for the fourth consecutive contest (tied career-long).

The lone remaining Bobcat to hit double figures was Jen Fay (Lynbrook, New York) who pumped in 12 points (4-9 FG, 4-4 FT) with five rebounds and two steals. Fay's eighth 10+ scoring game of the season put her with the team-lead in scoring as she is averaging 10.2 points per game.

With the ball being swung all around the floor (20 assists on 28 made field goals), points littered across Quinnipiac's final box as Brittany Martin (Sicklerville, New Jersey) and Carly Fabbri (Stratford, Connecticut) posted eight apiece while Vanessa Udoji (Randolph, Massachusetts) added eight, Sarah Shewan (Russell, Ontario) chipped in six and Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut) tallied six on the night.

The lopsided score did not seem likely after the first six minutes of play as Manhattan played evenly with the Bobcats from the opening tip and through most of the first quarter. Manhattan's leading active scorer Kayla Grimme scored seven of her team-best 10 points in the opening stanza while the Jaspers owned a 12-11 lead with 4:35 remaining in the quarter.

That slim one-point lead, however, was short-lived as the Bobcats blew away the Jaspers for the remainder of the first half, outscoring Manhattan 29-7 for the final 14:35 of play in the first half while holding the Jaspers to just 1-of-14 shooting (7.1 percent) and forcing 15 turnovers.

Quinnipiac's dominating defense played a key role in what turned into a 25-2 run (+23) as the Bobcats held Manhattan without a field goal for 14:19 consecutive minutes as a Taylor Williams three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in the half put an end to an extended lapse without a make on the offensive end for the Jaspers.

The Bobcats spread the ball around all throughout the first half as 10 different players scored at least two points in the first 20 minutes of play while Strautmane did most of her damage in the first half (10 of her 16 points scored in the first and second quarters). Armed with a 21-point halftime advantage (40-19), Quinnipiac was able to build a sizeable edge despite struggling from three-point land missing all 12 of their attempts from downtown.

The strong play from the home side continued into the second half where the Bobcats continued to build on their momentum as what was a 12-11 Manhattan lead turned into a 57-21 deficit (46-9 run for Quinnipiac) midway through the third quarter. Strautmane (six), Fay (six) and Fabbri (five) combined to score 17 of the Bobcats' 25 total points in the frame.

Quinnipiac threatened to make this the largest victory in the program's Div. I history late as Paige Warfel (Downingtown, Pennsylvania) hit her first career three-pointer to put the Bobcats ahead by 46 with 1:02 remaining. But a last-second three-point play from the Jaspers snuffed out any hope of toppling the 90-44 victory over Maine in the 2016 WNIT First Round that stands as the largest in Div. I history for Quinnipiac.

After an extended stretch of games that saw the Bobcats play four games in eight days, including the lengthy trip up to Buffalo, Quinnipiac will enjoy the next five days off before taking on Fairfield at home on Monday afternoon (2 PM). Quinnipiac's last two meetings against the Stags at home have ended in convincing wins (83-58 in 2015-16, 83-43 in 2014-15).