Quinnipiac University
Maryland
Bobcats Set to Face #9/10 Terps
11/23/2019 1:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball Returns to Scene of First NCAA Tournament Appearance
Sunday, Nov. 23, 2019 | 12:00 PM (ET) | Xfinity Center | College Park, Maryland
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS (1-2) vs. University of Maryland Terrapins (4-1)
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | Twitter - @QU_WBB | GAME NOTES: QUINNIPIAC | MARYLAND
HAMDEN, Conn. - For the fourth-straight season, the Quinnipiac women's basketball team will take on a nationally-ranked opponent in a regular season contest as it travels to meet #9 Maryland on Sunday afternoon. The Bobcats and Terrapins will square off at the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland at 12:00 p.m. in a game that can be seen on Big Ten Network Plus.
THE SERIES
The Bobcats and Terrapins has met once in their all-time series with the lone matchup coming on March 23, 2013 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Maryland earned a 72-52 win at the Comcast Center in what was Quinnipiac's first NCAA Tournament appearance. The 13th-seeded Bobcats took a 21-12 lead midway through the first half before falling behind, 27-23, at halftime. Maryland opened up the game in the second half to eventually close things out.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland has won three straight games over the past week with an average margin of victory of +26.7. In that stretch, the Terrapins have held their opponents to 59 points per game, while scoring 85.7 themselves. The Terrapins dominated George Washington, 88-54, Wednesday at the XFINITY Center. Taylor Mikesell led the way with 19 points, Shakira Austin scored 15 with 8 boards, 4 blocks, 4 steals and 4 assists. Stephanie Jones added 12 points, Kaila Charles scored 11 and Diamond Miller chipped in 10. Maryland jumped out to a 23-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
GIMME MOR(E)-RIS
First-year forward Mikala Morris scored a career-high 17 points in Wednesday's loss at Yale and added 11 more against Bucknell. Morris' week was good enough to garner MAAC Rookie of the Week honors. The rookie tallied the most points of any first-year player since Paula Strautmane scored 21 in a WNIT win over Maine in 2016. Morris was 8-13 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds, while Strautmane went 10-10 in her outing.
DOUBLE DIPPING
Taylor Herd and Shaq Edwards both scored 10+ points in each of Quinnipiac's first two games this season. They are the first Bobcats duo since Adily Martucci and Aryn McClure in 2016 to record two double-digit games to open the season.
Edwards scored 14 more points in game three against Bucknell, making her the first player in Quinnipiac's Division I history to score 10+ points in her first three games as a Bobcat.
GOLD RUSH
Quinnipiac had ten players score in the win over Bucknell. The team acheived this feat four times last season. The Bobcats have had eight or more scorers in six of its last seven season-opening games. This year's home opener featured eight different scorers, including three first-year students (Sajada Bonner, Cur'Tiera Haywood, and Cat Almeida) and junior transfer Shaq Edwards.
YOU PAIGE'D?
Paige Warfel has been dominant on both ends of the floor for the Bobcats this season, totaling 37 points and 32 rebounds in three games. The senior has matched her two double-doubles from last season, a year in which she scored in double figures eight times.
ALL-MAAC HONORS
Quinnipiac women's basketball senior guard Taylor Herd has been selected to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC Second Team, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday, Oct. 22 during the Men's and Women's Basketball Preseason Awards Show on ESPN3. Senior forward Paige Warfel and junior Shaq Edwards also earned individual honors, being selected to the 2019 Preseason All-MAAC Third Team.
Herd, the reigning MAAC Women's Basketball Sixth Player of the Year, had the best statistical season of her career last year. She posted new career bests in field goals (90), field goal percentage (.359), three-point field goals (56), defensive rebounds (86), total rebounds (106), rebounds per game (3.2), assists (35), points (258), and points per game (7.8). The senior set a career-high with 21 points in a road victory over Canisius on Jan. 20 of last season. She was 7-14 from the floor with four three-pointers in that game.
Warfel also enjoyed a career year in her junior campaign as she set career bests in every single statistical category besides assists, where she recorded just six less than a year prior. The Chester Springs, Pa. native knocked down 27 free throws in a row over the course of 13 games last season, setting a new program division I record for most consecutive free throws.
Edwards, a transfer from La Salle, will make her Quinnipiac debut this season after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules. The junior averaged nine points a game during her freshman year at La Salle and is a former Connecticut Gatorade Player of Year from her high school career at Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut.
PRESEASON POLL
The Bobcats were picked to finish second in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Quinnipiac received 104 total points and two first place votes, finishing behind only Marist (119 points, nine first place votes).
PERFECTION
Last year marked the second-straight unbeaten season in conference play for the Bobcats. It is the fourth undefeated season in program history and third in the MAAC.
FIVE-TIME, FIVE-TIME, FIVE-TIME
The Bobcats are one of five programs in the nation to have claimed at least a share of the regular season conference title in each the last five seasons. Connecticut, Baylor, Notre Dame, and New Mexico State clinched their fifth-straight as well last season.
LOCK 'EM CATS
The Bobcats ranked second in the country and first in the MAAC in scoring defense (50.5 opp ppg). Quinnipiac set a new program record last season, allowing just six points to Manhattan in the first half. The Bobcats only allowed one point in the second quarter, tying the program record set on February 23 against Marist. Quinnipiac allowed just 2 points to Siena in the first quarter of each of last season's matchups with the Saints and also played five 4-point quarters (Richmond, Fairfield, Saint Peter's, and Monmouth (x2)).
MAAC WIN STREAK
Last year's MAAC Championship win vs. Marist was the 52nd-straight MAAC victory for Quinnipiac, the longest in the history of the conference. The streak currently stands as the second-longest active streak in the nation, behind only Connecticut. Historically, the current streak is the 10th-longest in the history of Division I women's basketball.
TURN IT OVER
The Quinnipiac defense forced 20+ turnovers in 17 different games last season.
R-P.. R-P-I
According to the official NCAA RPI, the Bobcats finished the season at 41st on the RPI list and played the 24th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation before running through MAAC play without a loss.
RUNNING AWAY WITH IT
Last January's victory over Niagara was Quinnipiac's eighth win of 40+ points since the beginning of the 2015-16 season. The Bobcats have 119 conference victories (regular season and playoffs) since joining the MAAC in 2013-14.
MAAC-TO-BACK
Quinnipiac finished the 2018-19 regular season as five-time defending MAAC regular season champions, earning the top record in conference play at 18-0 for each of the last two seasons. Quinnipiac has dominated the league since joining in 2013-14, going 119-14 in conference play (including postseason).
FREE FOR ALL
Paige Warfel knocked down 27 free throws over the course of 13 games. The streak ranks in the top-five longest in Quinnipiac history. Warfel and Brittany Martin both went 9-9 from the free throw line this season at Marist and vs. Ball State, respectively. 9-9 is the third most free throws in a game without a miss in Quinnipiac's history. The team knocked down its first 15 freebies of the game vs. Ball State early in the season, finishing 21-23 (91.3%) from the stripe, the best percentage (12+ attempts) since February 25, 2010 against Monmouth.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Head coach Tricia Fabbri enters her 25th season leading the Bobcats in 2019-20, as the five-time Coach of the Year (three in five MAAC seasons) and all-time winningest coach in program history has totaled 434 career victories, thus far. Fabbri's Bobcats have reached the 20-win plateau in eight straight seasons, won four conference titles in the last six seasons and earned five consecutive MAAC Regular Season titles. She is currently 47th on the list of active DI coaching victories.
GOTTA LOVE THAT HOME COOKIN'
Quinnipiac's extended home dominance is particularly impressive when looking at games against MAAC opponents, as the Bobcats stand with a mark of 55-4 (.923) at home in league games since joining the conference in 2013-14. That prominence is only magnified when looking a since 2014-15, as the Bobcats are 49-1 (.977) at the People's United Center in conference games, with the only loss coming three years ago to Manhattan. The Bobcats are currently riding a 36-game unbeaten streak in home games against MAAC foes.
HITTING THAT MAGIC NUMBER
Quinnipiac's win at Rider last season marked yet another 20-win campaign for Head Coach Tricia Fabbri in 2018-19. The 13th 20-win season in program history made it eight in-a-row as well as the tenth in Fabbri's 24-year coaching career at Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac is one of just 19 teams across the nation and one of six mid-major programs to record eight straight 20+ win seasons. Over those last eight seasons, Quinnipiac has compiled a record of 212-59 for a .785 win percentage which ranks as the tenth-best overall mark in the nation.
THE ULTIMATE CLOSERS
Quinnipiac has enjoyed a great deal of success over the past four seasons when building a first half lead. After starting 2016-17 with a mark of 2-0 when owning a halftime lead, the Bobcats saw one of their most impressive streaks in program history come to an end in a 71-68 loss at Temple. The undefeated streak, which lasted over the course of three seasons, came to an end at 46 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. Overall, however, the Bobcats went 22-2 in the 2016-17 season and 19-0 in 2017- 18 to give Quinnipiac a mark of 105-4 since the start of 2014-15 in games in which Quinnipiac leads at the half.
THAT 70s SHOW
Since the 2007-08 season, Quinnipiac is 163-15 (.915) in games where the Bobcats score 70 or more points, including 86-2 (.977) combined since 2014-15. During 2017-18 (20-0), 2016-17 (16-0), 2012-13 (18-0) and 2010-11 (8-0), the Bobcats compiled undefeated records in each respective season when reaching the 70-point scoring plateau. Quinnipiac has improved its current win streak in those contests to 55 in a row (the last defeat was in overtime to FGCU in 2015-16 - the last regulation loss was to Oklahoma in the 2015 NCAA Tournament).
SMARTY CATS
Quinnipiac earned a spot on the 2018-19 WBCA Division I Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll, as announced by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Bobcats recorded a 3.535 team GPA to rank 21st of all Division I women's basketball programs. Quinnipiac is the only school from New England and the only Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference member to finish in the Top 25. Only six of the Academic Top 25 also made appearances in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
TICKETS
To see Quinnipiac's full schedule for the upcoming season, CLICK HERE. For more information about tickets, please contact the Quinnipiac Ticket Office at (203) 582-3905 or visit qutickets.com.
FOLLOW US
For more updates regarding Quinnipiac women's basketball, follow the program on Twitter and Instagram at @QU_WBB.
