Not so long ago, BR-135 Quinnipiac sat at 5-7, with little hope of reaching the postseason. But everything started to click for this young team on Jan. 6, when it posted a 64-51 victory over Rider. The Bobcats haven't lost since.
With 10 straight victories and a current 15-7 record, Quinnipiac is in third place in the MAAC right behind Iona and Marist.
The Bobcats' recent winning streak is the ninth-longest in the country and the squad hasn't just slid by the opposition, they've dominated. Seven of their 10 victories have come by more than 10 points, with the team's biggest margin of victory coming in the form of a 94-52 thrashing of Siena on Jan. 24. Not every win has been easy pickings, though. Most recently, Quinnipiac went up against Niagara and faced a 26-16 first-quarter deficit before rebounding, outscoring the Purple Eagles 22-4 in the second quarter en route to a 70-52 win.
"We ran into a buzzsaw for 10 minutes, but we weathered the storm and gave up four points in the second quarter," Quinnpiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said afterward. "A big theme this season has been getting the ball inside and being aggressive."
After the slow start, aggression was the name of the game for the Bobcats as Aryn McClure and Paula Strautmane took over. McClure dominated inside for a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as Strautmane — who picked up her second straight MAAC Freshman of the Week honor recently — added nine points.
With a young team, the longtime skipper expected the year to start slow and is happy with the progress her players have made thus far. She credits her coaching staff — which includes two former Bobcats — for the big change.
"Danielle (Brennan), Marie (Warner) and Tobi (Momoh) do such a great job day-to-day with player development. That's what's been really fun this year," Fabbri said after the team's 10th straight win. "It's been so much fun to coach this young team and watch them get better and better weekend to weekend. The kids are so eager and want to get better."
Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac Athletics
With Iona and Marist looming on the horizon, Fabbri wasn't overlooking Niagara but she said the team is excited to get ready for the challenge that league-leading Iona poses.
"If we want the opportunity to play for second place, we needed to take care of business against Niagara," she said. "We have a brawl for second place on Friday night. We're going to get ready for that one. We enjoying it, but we're excited to get ready for Iona."
The Bobcats take on Iona twice in their final seven games, with the first one coming Friday at 7 p.m., and also take on second place Marist in between showdowns with the Gaels. Quinnipiac fell to Marist 56-47 in their first meeting on Dec. 3. The second contest will take place at home on Feb. 18.
Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac Athletics
