Updated NEC Standings for 2/27
Here is the lastest “NEC on The Run” Podcast. The spotlight interview features Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri, whose Bobcats are 22-4 and tied for first place in the women’s standings with a 14-2 record. Fabbri reflects on Quinnipiac’s stellar regular season, offers thoughts on some of her players and gives her opinion on the new women’s tournament format and what to expect in the postseason.
Quinnipiac 66………………………………………….Monmouth 80
The Bobcats suffered a tough loss in their last home game of the regular season to the Monmouth Hawks 80-66 (Box Score) Monday night.
Was this the same team that beat San Diego State IN SAN DIEGO in December? The same one that came from 16 points down to beat LIU on the road last Monday, then beat Sacred Heart Saturday? Definitely not.
Unfortunately I mentioned that this game couldn’t be taken lightly, and the Bobcats were flat-out outplayed by the Hawks. Monmouth, on the NEC playoff bubble, came through with an inspired performance tonight, shooting the ball at a 57 percent clip and playing tight D for the entire game.
This is the “nitty-gritty” time of year, and no matter where you are in the standings, every conference game seems to be THAT much tougher, which was the case for QU tonight.
If there was a bright spot, it’s that Erin Kerner continued her tremendous play with a game-high 28 points in the loss.
No matter what happens with the rest of tonight’s NEC games, the standings have tightened up. Next up the Bobcats travel to Staten Island on Friday in preparation for a Saturday matchup with the Wagner Seahawks.
VS 
The Monmouth Hawks are up next for the Bobcats. Basically, yesterday was a great win over Sacred Heart, but there isn’t too much time to celebrate.
The first time these two teams played was January 12, when QU escaped Monmouth’s gym with a tight 66-62 win. The Hawks are 8th in the Northeast Conference Standings, so that means that they are on the bubble as far as getting into the NEC Tournament. With only 3 games left for NEC teams, their postseason hopes are on the line, and they can’t be taken lightly.
I love mentioning this whenever I can, but this could be a preview of a potential first-round NEC Tournament opponent for the Bobcats…tipoff is Monday night at 7 p.m. at TDBNSC.
That’s the best way to describe how the Bobcats felt after beating Sacred Heart 59-48 Saturday at TDBNSC. All season Quinnipiac has pretty much had their way with every other NEC opponent with the exception of SHU, who handed them their only in-conference loss of the season last month.
They successfully avenged that loss with a solid performance on both ends of the floor. Erin Kerner and Mandy Pennewell led the scoring with 17 points each, and Senior Nicole Duperron had another double-double (on senior day nonetheless) with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Defensively, they held Sacred Heart to 23.9% shooting for the game, and only allowed Kaitlin Sowinksi to score 12 points for the Pioneers (she had 31 last time against QU).
The Bobcats are now 22-3 (14-1 NEC), while Sacred Heart falls to 18-9 (13-3 NEC).
Last time Quinnipiac played Sacred Heart, they suffered their first NEC loss of the year 92-82. Maybe things will be different tomorrow.
Senior Day is tomorrow, as we pay tribute to the QU Basketball careers of 5 seniors: Amber Anderson, Hannalee Pervan, Nicole Duperron, Monique Lee and Sofia Kyritsis.
Let’s get a big crowd out at TDBNSC at 1 p.m. for tipoff tomorrow!The two best teams in the Northeast Conference are battling it out, and as Coach Tricia Fabbri said at practice today, “These are the games you want to be a part of…half of the games around the country being played tomorrow mean nothing; this one means something.”
Here’s a segment of my radio show, The Token Sports Radio Show on WQAQ, where me and my co-host Michael talk QU men’s and women’s basketball.
QU 65…………………………….LIU 61
Absolutely unbelievable! Rarely am I ever at a loss for words when writing about sports, but tonight…I just might be.
The headline would read “Bobcat overcome 16 point deficit on the road to beat LIU,” but that wouldn’t do the game justice. Tonight QU overcame horrible officiating, early foul trouble, a pretty loud crowd and an abismal first half and left Brooklyn with a potentially season-defining win.
Here’s one statline that sums up the Bobcats’ effort in this game: 3 weeks after suffering a torn ACL and a torn meniscus, Senior Monique Lee dropped 16 points in her first game back, including the go-ahead three point play with under 2 minutes remaining.
More than anything, this was just a gritty, tough win. After a lackluster first half (down by 14 at the half), Quinnipiac played their most inspired basketball of the year in the second half.
Here’s the not so pretty box score. All that counts is the win, and it was a great one!
Quinnipiac is now 21-3 overall (13-1 NEC), while the Blackbirds of LIU fall to 19-6 (10-4 NEC).
68 
57
Late-season injuries were bearing down, the Head Coach was sick as a dog all week, and 14 hours of bus riding in the past two days…but all that mattered was the W. The Bobcats defeated Mount St. Mary’s 68-57 at Knott Arena in Emmitsburg, M.D. and now sit at 20-3 overall (12-1 NEC).
Most impressively, 4 Bobcats scored in double figures, and the defensive intensity was as good as it had been all year. It truly was a team effort, which it had to be for a win on the road.
Junior Brianna Rooney had a solid all-around game for Quinnipiac, posting 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 (yes, 5) steals.
Next up will definitely be a tough one. The Bobcats travel to Brooklyn, NY Monday to play LIU, the pre-season favorite to win the Northeast Conference. When they played earlier this season at TD, the Bobcats squeaked out a 62-60 win.
After winning three games in a row on their home court, the Bobcats take the drive down to Emittsburg, M.D. today in preparation for tomorrow’s matchup with The Mount (Mount St. Mary’s).
Coming into the game, QU leads the NEC Standings with a 19-3 overall record, 11-1 in conference play. The Mount are currently in 7th place with an NEC record of 5-9 and a 7-18 overall record (potential first round NEC Tournament preview?).
The last time these two teams played was on January 14 at the TD Banknorth Sports Center. I’m not gonna lie, the game was pretty much over from the opening tip, with the Bobcats cruising to a 109-72 win.
Things always seem to be tougher on the road, but tomorrow we will find out if that’s true at all in this case…
After being down by as many as 18 points in the second half to the Bobcats, the CCSU Blue Devils made an impressive comeback to get within 2 in the closing seconds. Still, it was not enough in the end, and the Bobcats made just enough plays (and free throws) in crunch time hold on for a 72-66 win Monday Night at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.
The MSG-televised game started off fast, with both teams shooting prolifically in the first half. A total of 18 three pointers were hit by both teams in the game, 11 made by CCSU.
Erin Kerner led the Bobcats with 27 points, and Courtney Kamisnki had an impressive double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The moment of the game for any Bobcat fan came at the very end of the night when the Bobcats were up 2 with 11 seconds remaining and Brianna Rooney on the line shooting 2. An unbelievably loud CCSU fan yelled at the top of his lungs to try and distract the Junior guard, but she calmly swooshed two free throws to seal the win and silence the grumpy “Fake Blue Devils” fan.
Here’s the statistical proof: QU vs. CCSU Box Score
After the win, I talked to Bobcats Assistant Coach Helen Ridley about the game and the team’s outlook for the rest of the season:
QU vs. CCSU (2/11) Helen Ridley Postgame Interview
(you can listen and download this piece from the link above)
The Bobcats will now travel from home for their next two games. First up, the team heads down to Emmitsburg, MD to play Mount St. Mary’s for a Saturday 3 p.m. tipoff.
