Two words that will limit my posting on this blog for the time being. Still, if anything develops over the summer, i’ll be back to post on it for sure! The 2008-2009 schedule should be released in August or September, so there will be a lot to talk about then…
Thank for you coming to the best Bobcats Basketball blog in the world, and I will be back working for the team next season, it should be another fun year with the team!
For all Bobcats Athletics news, go to QuinnipiacBobcats.com.
The third and final recruit that the Bobcats have brought in to play for Quinnipiac next season is small forward Jacinda Dunbar from Eddison, N.J. Here is the intel on Dunbar…
Dunbar is a 1,000 point scorer for Cardinal McCarrick High School who was named to the All-Junior Team as well as the The Star Ledger All-Middlesex County Fourth Team. The third leading scorer in Middlesex County as a junior season, she averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, and four blocks per game.
“Dunbar is a great athlete who brings much needed rebounding to our small forward position,” Fabbri said. “She’s a perfect fit in our system on both ends of the floor.”
With Dunbar now joining the Bobcats, and Freshman Lailah Pratt having a taste of NEC Play this season, they should both compliment Krystal Lazos and Kathleen Neyens very well. There’s no question that all three recruits were good additions that will make their own impact next season…we can only hope!
The second recruit that Coach Fabbri and the Bobcats have brought in for next season is Guard Felicia Barron (above right) from Springfield, M.A.
“ Barron comes to Quinnipiac from Central High School, where as a junior she won the Vi Goodnow Award, given to the top women’s basketball player in Western Massachusetts. She averaged 17.2 points, 7.7 assists, and 6.6 rebounds per game in 2006-2007 while leading her team to a 24-1 record, a Western Massachusetts Division I and State Championships. Barron was named the Most Valuable Player at the Western Massachusetts Championship and the State Championship games, scoring 28 points in each contest.
“She’s an incredible scorer and more importantly a proven champion on the court who will add her speed and skill to the best starting guard rotation in the Northeast Conference in Erin Kerner, Brianna Rooney and Mandy Pennewell,” said Fabbri. “
Being from Massachusetts myself, I had read about Barron and Central High School’s State Championship, so I knew that she had played in some big games in her high school career. With the ”Little 3″ (Kerner/Pennewell/Rooney) guards, Barron should compliment them nicely next season. Let’s just say ball handling will not be much of an issue for the Bobcats next year, with at least 4 or 5 players on the roster who are capable of running the point at any time.
This was probably the most accomplished player to sign with the Bobcats for next season. Here’s the proof…
Massachusetts Player of the Year…
20 Point game in the state semifinals (interview included)
26 points and the game winner in OT in the state final!
Here’s a quick video of Barron playing in a high school state tournament game…
2008-2009 
Since the Bobcats season is now over and some of us, hopefully, have moved on, it’s time to look forward to next season!
Coach Fabbri signed three girls to National Letters of Intent during the season to play next year. The first signing was forward Jacki Mann, from Rutherford, N.J.
Mann comes to Quinnipiac from Rutherford High School where she was a All-League First Team selection in her sophomore and junior years. She averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks per game while leading her team to a 25-5 record and the North 2, Group 2 final. Mann was also named to the All-County Third Team as a sophomore and to the All-County First Team as a junior.
“With the graduation of Monique Lee this May, we needed Jacki Mann to say yes to Quinnipiac in this early signing period,” Fabbri said. “She’s a great player who will make us better immediately.”
Having Jacki Mann down low next season should be a treat to watch. She should be a good compliment to Courtney Kaminski, and I think out of all of the incoming freshman, she will see the most game action early in the season.
Here’s a related article on signing Jacki Mann to Quinnipiac
The NCAA granted the NEC $75,000 this week, which doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but the grant was very significant for the league.
Basically, this means that the NCAA is officially starting to recognize the growth and development of the teams representing the NEC like Quinnipiac. With Robert Morris capturing back-to-back titles and playing Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tourney, and the Bobcats making onto the NIT bracket, NEC Women’s Basketball had some great exposure this year. This was the financial reward for the league, which will go towards added exposure to the league for attendance and media coverage.
To read the full story, click here
Nearly a month after the season has ended, Junior Erin Kerner is still receiving awards for her phenomenal 07-08 year. Earlier this week her and QU Lacrosse star Garrett Kerr were named the Eli’s Restaurant Group/Quinnipiac University Athletes of the Month for March.
This is the thrid time that Erin has won this award overall. In the five games during the month of March that she played, she averaged 18.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, and shot over 47% on threes.
For the official release, click here
We have reached the best game of the season for the 07-08′ QU Women’s Basketball game, one I truly will never ever forget. Having the priviledge to be there with the team on February 18, it was amazing. The Bobcats erased a 16 point second half difference and came all the way back to beat LIU on their home floor 65-61.
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Right from the get go, QU dug itself a hole. LIU was hitting everything, and we weren’t…it all changed in the second half. Just over three weeks after suffering a torn ACL, Senior Monique Lee returned to the lineup and scored all 16 of her points in the second half to lead the Bobcats comeback.
I don’t who was more stunned after the game? Was it me, the manager videotpaing the game, or the entire LIU crowd and team? No matter the case, it was a great bus ride home to Quinnipiac on that Monday night, and the comeback was the greatest that I had ever been a part of.
After the game in the locker room, Coach Tricia Fabbri wrote the number “21″ in big letters…the number of wins the team had reached at the time, and the number of the star of the night, Monique Lee.
As I approach the most amazing game of the season for Quinnipiac Basketball, the runner-up could easily be the most impressive win of the season, and a landmark for an NEC program like the Bobcats. At #2 is the Bobcats downing the San Diego State Aztecs in the semifinals of the Surf n’ Slam Championship…on SDSU’s home floor…by 19 points (78-59)!
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It’s official…the nets at Cox Arena in San Diego were burnt down and had to be replaced cause of the Bobcats’ red hot shooting against SDSU. Junior Mandy Pennewell had a season-high 23 points, hitting 4 of 6 from 3 point range, which was the theme of the whole game. Everybody who stepped out on the floor for QU hit shot after shot, including Sophomore Sarah McGowan, who hit back to back threes early to open up a 26-7 lead in the first half.
Assistant Coach Helen Ridley said of the game, “It was great to get off to a hot start for the team. Naturally we wanted to avoid coming out flat, seeing as it’s like a vacation in San Diego 3000 miles away from home…but they came to play right from the tip.”
The Bobcats never looked back from the hot start, and rolled past the Aztecs the rest of the way. The team was probably the second most excited after a game all year…which is a perfect tease for the #1 game of the 07-08 season for QU Women’s Baskebtall…
The #3 game of the season was the first of three meetings between the Bobcats and the LIU Blackbirds. All three matchups were great games, but the first delivered the closest final score, 62-60.
62 60
Erin Kerner scored 25 points as she reached the 1000th career point plateau. The game was intense to say the least, coming down to the very last seconds. LIU guard Valerie Nainima caught the inbounds pass with 4.4 ticks left, but was immediately pressured by Brianna Rooney for the length of the floor, and was unable to even get off a shot!
LIU probably would like to think that she didn’t know how much time was left, but we all know that it was Breezy’s awesome D that won it in the end. Besides, she was the NEC Defensive Player of the Year!
Bobcats Assistant Coach Kara Cassidy later said about the game, “It was too intense for me…My heart was pounding for like an hour after the game! It came down to the last play, and the team’s effort was there from beginning to end…and that’s what we needed.”
The #4 game of the season was the lone meeting between Quinnipiac and eventual league champion Robert Morris, where the Bobcats came out on top 72-66 on January 5.
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RMU’s Sade Logan, who went on to be named NEC Player of the Year, scored 31 points in the loss, but Erin Kerner killed the Colonials with her shooting in scoring 33 points. After the win, Coach Fabbri said something that turned out to be very true about the win.
“I’m really proud of this team’s effort today. This game will have huge ramifications for our team down the stretch this season for seeding of the conference tournament and it’s great to get a win here.”
This game’s significance turned out to be huge. Since both teams finished the season tied atop the NEC Standings, Quinnipiac held the tiebreaker by virtue of this win. That gave them the #1 seed in the NEC Tournament, and the automatic qualification into the Women’s NIT for their first ever postseason appearance.
