Quinnipiac University
Drexel
Women's Basketball Opens 2019-20 Campaign Tuesday
11/4/2019 4:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Bobcats Host Drexel in Season Opener
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 | 6:00 PM (ET) | People's United Center | Hamden, Connecticut
QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY BOBCATS (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Drexel University Dragons (0-0, 0-0 COLONIAL)
Watch | Live Stats | Listen | Twitter - @QU_WBB | GAME NOTES: QUINNIPIAC | DREXEL
HAMDEN, Conn. - Quinnipiac women's basketball is back in action as the 2019-20 season begins on Tuesday night when the Drexel Dragons visit the People's United Center. The rematch of last year's season opener is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
THE SERIES
Tuesday's contest marks the fourth all-time matchup between Drexel and Quinnipiac and the second consecutive year that the two teams will open the season against each other. Quinnipiac owns a 2-1 all-time record in the series, including a 56-52 road victory in Philadelphia last year. This year's matchup is the first time that Drexel is making the trip to Hamden.
SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel was picked to finish second in the Colonial Athletic Association this season in the recent preseason poll. The Dragons, coming off a 24-9 season last year which saw them earn a fifth consecutive postseason bid, earned a first place vote in the poll. The Dragons won 24 games last year, the third consecutive season in which the Dragons have won at least 20 games. Prior to that stretch, the program had never boasted back-to-back 20-win seasons. Drexel advanced to its second consecutive CAA championship game and earned a bid to the WNIT, its 10th postseason appearance in the last 11 years. Senior Bailey Greenberg, who won the 2018 CAA Player of the Year award, returns to lead this year's squad and was named a Preseason First Team All-CAA performer after her historic 2018-19 campaign. Greenberg led the league in scoring through the regular season and was one of just two players to finish the season in the top five for both scoring and rebounding. She was a CAA All-Tournament Team choice, and became the second Dragon ever to earn CAA All-Defensive Team recognition after helping the Dragons to an NCAA-best 50.5 points per game allowed.
TOP OF THE CLASS
Quinnipiac had the second-best scoring defense and fourth-best turnover margin in the country last season. The Bobcats also ranked seventh in steals and within the top-20 in FG % defense, scoring margin, steals per game, turnovers forced, and turnovers per game.
THE 2018-19 SEASON
Quinnipiac finished 26-7 overall and 18-0 in MAAC play to earn the 2018-19 MAAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Quinnipiac clinched its fifth straight MAAC Regular Season title, going undefeated in regular season conference play for the fourth time in seven seasons. The regular season title is the Bobcats' sixth in the last seven years, dating back to the 2012-13 campaign where Quinnipiac was crowned the NEC Regular Season Champions.
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)).
D...D..D... DEFENSE!
Quinnipiac allowed just 31 points to Siena last season. The Saints' total was the lowest by any opponent since a 61-26 win over Albright on January 8, 1994. The Bobcats allowed fewer than 50 points 17 times last season and 14 times in 21 games against MAAC opponents.
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.
WITHOUT A DOUBT
Quinnipiac's margin of victory in the MAAC regular season was 23.1 points. Its 30-point win in the MAAC Championship game was the largest margin of victory in a championship game in conference history.
TURN IT OVER
The Quinnipiac defense forced 20+ turnovers in 17 different games last season.
OFFENSE WAS ON
The Bobcats had a historically strong offensive performance against Niagara last season, including 36 points in the first quarter alone. That output was the team's highest point total in a single quarter since switching from halves to quarters in 2015-16. The last time the Bobcats scored 30+ points in a quarter was in the fourth quarter of last season's NCAA Tournament First Round win over #8-seeded Miami.
NO, SERIOUSLY, THIS TEAM WAS EN FUEGO
The Niagara victory marked the first time ever that Quinnipiac had two 30+ point quarters in the same game and the third time in two years that the Bobcats have posted 50+ points in a half. The 96-point tally was the highest for the program since February 7, 2015 against Rider.
LOW TURNOVER RATE
Quinnipiac ranks 4th in turnover margin (+8.42) and 16th in the nation in least turnovers per game (12.4). The team's six turnovers against Missouri on November 24 were the team's least in a non-conference game since joining the Division I ranks. The team's 71 total turnovers through six games was also the lowest six-game total to start a season in Quinnipiac's Division I history. The team was 21st nationally with 408 turnovers overall and ranked 14th with 20.79 forced turnovers per game.
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
The January 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 433 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 104-4 since the start of 2014-15 in games in which Quinnipiac leads at the half.
THAT 70s SCORING SHOW
Since the 2007-08 season, Quinnipiac is 162-15 (.915) in games where the Bobcats score 70 or more points, including 85-2 (.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 54 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.
