Bobcats Erase 16-Point Deficit, Earn Regular Season Title

Thursday, February 21

Lawrenceville, NJ / Alumni Gym

7:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Rider

Quinnipiac

Rider

Bobcats Erase 16-Point Deficit, Earn Regular Season Title

2/21/2019 8:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Quinnipiac Outscores Rider 23-13 in Fourth Quarter

By: QU Athletic Communications

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Despite being outscored 27-11 in the first quarter, the Quinnipiac women's basketball team outscored Rider, 55-33 in the final three and claimed its fifth-straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 66-60 win.

Senior Paula Strautmane led all scorers with 17 points on 6-11 shooting. The Latvia native pulled down six rebounds, blocked a shot, and was 4-4 from the free throw line in the win.

SCORE
Quinnipiac 66 / Rider 60

RECORDS
Quinnipiac (20-6, 15-0 MAAC) | Rider (15-11, 11-4 MAAC)

LOCATION
Alumni Gym / Lawrenceville, New Jersey

BOBCATS STATISTICAL LEADERS

Points: Strautmane (17)
Rebounds: Strautmane (6)
Assists: Thornton (4)
Steals: McClure (4)
Blocks: Warfel (2)

GAME SUMMARY

Rider threw an absolute haymaker in the first quarter, blitzing the Bobcats with a 27-point performance, thanks to 71 percent from the field. Seven different players for the Broncs, who took a stunning 27-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Bobcats threw the next punch in the form of a 10-0 run to open the second quarter. The run cut the Rider lead to six points, which is where it would remain heading into the halftime break. Quinnipiac forced seven Rider turnovers in the quarter and held the hosts to just 2-11 from the field in the frame.
QU continued to chip away in the next period, ultimately picking up two points in a 16-14 quarter. It was the best quarter of the game for the Bobcats from the field, as they put together a 6-12 (50 percent) effort.
An Edel Thornton free throw with 1:54 left in the third quarter started a 17-0 Quinnipiac run that would span through the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter and give the Bobcats a ten-point advantage.
Rider took the game to the final whistle, cutting the deficit to as little as four, thanks to eight points in two minutes by Lexi Posset. However, the rally fell short and the Bobcats clinched the regular season title in thrilling fashion.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

The Bobcats improve to 15-0 all-time against Rider. The Broncs are one of five MAAC schools that have never defeated Quinnipiac.
Quinnipiac remains unbeaten in MAAC play, running the overall conference winning streak to 46 games, tying Belmont's streak that ended in January for 13th-longest in Division I history.
The win is also victory 20 of the season for the team. It is the 13th 20-win season in program history and eight in-a-row.
With three assists, senior Aryn McClure passed Erin Kerner '09 and Brianna Rooney '09 with 345 assists, eighth-most in Quinnipiac history. McClure posted 16 points, four steals, two rebounds, and a block to go along with her three assist, zero turnover evening.
Strautmane's six rebounds move her into the top ten all-time in Quinnipiac history with 678 career boards. She passes Courtney Kaminski '11 on the all-time list.
Jen Fay scored in double figures for the second-straight game, picking up 11 points with five rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Edel Thornton chipped in with four assists and three steals without turning the ball over once. It marks the fourth-straight game in which the senior did not commit a turnover. The Ireland native has posted 15 assists in that same span.
Entering play today, the Bobcats were one of just seven programs in the nation to have claimed at least a share of the regular season conference title in each the last four seasons. The others are Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, DePaul, Green Bay, and New Mexico State. Based on current standings, it is not likely that all six other teams will raise their streak to five straight.
Quinnipiac's 15-game win streak is tied with #25 Rice for the second-longest active streak in the nation and only one game behind #1 Baylor.

QUOTING HEAD COACH TRICIA FABRRI
"We've built a winning culture here… Each class leaves [the program] a little better than they found it". The Bobcats are led by a group of seniors that Fabbri says are looking forward to their final time at the MAAC Championship. "I think they'll be able to let their hair down and have a lot of fun the rest of the way".

NEXT UP

Quinnipiac returns home on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. contest against Marist. The #1 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament enters that tilt in search of three more wins to close out a second-straight undefeated conference season.