QU Women’s Basketball Dominates MAAC Rival Marist, 79-57, Behind 14 Three-Pointers

Thursday, February 9

Hamden, CT

5:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

19-6, 12-3MAAC

Marist

11-13, 8-6MAAC

Marist

Quinnipiac

QU Women’s Basketball Dominates MAAC Rival Marist, 79-57, Behind 14 Three-Pointers

2/9/2017 8:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Bobcats Have Drained 27 Three-Pointers in the Last Two Games Combined

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – The Quinnipiac women's basketball team put on another shooting clinic in Thursday night's clash between two traditional MAAC powers as the Bobcats got the better of Marist, 79-57, from the TD Bank Sports Center on Thursday night.

After breaking through with a season high 13 three-pointers in a 20-point home win over Monmouth on Saturday, Quinnipiac finished with another new season high in tonight's win as the Bobcats went 14-for-34 (48.4 percent) from behind the arc. Accounting for nearly half of the team's total field goals on the evening (14 of 31, 45.2 percent), the three-point line proved the difference as the 27 combined three-pointers for Quinnipiac in the past two games is the most in a two-game span for the Bobcats since draining 27 combined on March 1 and 6 of the 2014-15 season.

Aryn McClure (Springfield Gardens, New York) put together one of her best games of the season as the sophomore earned Player of the Game honors pilling up 16 points (7-14 FG), five rebounds, four assists (no turnovers) and two steals in 27 minutes. The 16-point effort is a season high for McClure while she reached double figures for just the second time in nine games.

This 22-point victory seemed much in doubt early as each team rode a 7-0 run before playing back-and-forth with Quinnipiac eventually claiming a 17-14 lead through the first 10 minutes. Even though the Red Foxes outscored the Bobcats in the paint, 8-2, five of the six made field goals for Quinnipiac in the first quarter came from behind the arc including a pair each from Jen Fay (Lynbrook, New York) and Adily Martucci (Waterford, Connecticut).

The back-and-forth play that told the story of the opening stanza continued deep into the second as Marist tied the score at 26-26 before the Bobcats went on a game-deciding 24-6 run (+18 swing) that took any chance of a Marist victory out of the equation.

The run started with back-to-back three's from the first quarter stars Fay and Martucci as Quinnipiac all of the sudden led by 10 with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Marist hit a three of their own just before the halftime buzzer as the Bobcats led at the break, 36-29.

Facing a Marist team heavily reliant on the three-point shot, the Bobcats defended and took away the Red Foxes' strength all game long. Even though Marist finished with eight made three-pointers, the Red Foxes shot a less-than-stellar 28.6 percent (8-28 3FG) from behind the arc and were just 4-of-15 in the second half (2-for-13 until the final minutes).

Quinnipiac put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring Marist 24-10 while suffocating the Red Foxes' offense, holding the road side to just 2-for-13 shooting (15.4 percent). Meanwhile, McClure started to take over as she netted 10 of her 16 points in the third quarter alone while burying all four of her field goal attempts including the first six points of the second half for the Bobcats.

Brittany Martin (Sicklerville, New Jersey) came off the bench and gave her team a big lift in the fourth quarter as she scored seven points, finishing with her second-highest scoring output in the last 21 games for the Bobcats. Martin's seven points helped finish off the dominating victory as Quinnipiac led by as many as 30 points before the final horn sounded on the 22-point win.

Fay (14 points, three rebounds, three blocks) and Martucci (14 points, four rebounds, two steals) joined McClure in double figures while the pair combined to shoot 8-of-16 from behind the arc. Edel Thornton (Gurranabraher, Ireland) was solid at the point guard position, contributing with a great all-around game including six points, five rebounds, five assists (one turnover) and three steals. Morgan Manz (Southbury, Connecticut) added five points with a career-best five assists. As a team, Quinnipiac tied a season high with 26 points on 31 made baskets (83.9 assist-to-basket percentage).

Quinnipiac's quick two-game home stand comes to an end as the Bobcats head to Siena on Sunday, taking on the Saints at 2 PM from the Alumni Recreation Center (ARC).