ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — No. 1 Quinnipiac women’s basketball began its quest for its sixth MAAC Championship Friday afternoon, taking down the No. 8 Manhattan Jaspers 59-43 and advancing to the semifinals of the MAAC Tournament.
But like all of the Bobcats’ conference wins, they had to earn it.
“We didn’t see a few good looks go down and we got a little tight,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said.
The story of the first five minutes was senior forward Ella O’Donnell. The Shankill, Ireland native dominated in the post early, scoring the first six Bobcat points. An ensuing three pointer from junior guard Karson Martin made it seem like the Bobcats were gonna run away with a lead early.
But then, Manhattan started to climb back into the game.
The Jaspers grabbed key rebounds from Quinnipiac misses and turned them into points on the other end of the floor, culminating in a made free throw by graduate student forward Colette Mulderig and a one point lead for Manhattan by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same for Quinnipiac. Its offensive dry spell would continue into the second, going nearly eight minutes without a converted field goal while converting on two of 12 attempts from range.
With five minutes left in the quarter, Quinnipiac’s offense finally began to stir to life. Five made field goals, including a lone three from graduate student guard Jackie Grisdale, gave the Bobcats a 23-20 lead at the half.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bobcats were consistently dominant, holding Manhattan to a 30% field goal percentage due to the defensive prowess of Grisdale shutting down senior guard Brianna Davis, the Jaspers leading scorer.
“I knew (Davis) was a tough player,” Grisdale said. “She makes a lot of tough shots. I wanted to do the best that I could with the prep work that I had.”
While the Bobcats faced offensive inconsistency in the first half, the second half saw them settle into a groove and begin to gain distance. Driving that momentum was freshman guard Ella Ryan.
The Brentwood, Tenn. native got Quinnipiac started by trading threes with Davis. She would net two more in the ensuing minutes, ending the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
“My teammates believe in me and they believe as soon as it goes up that it’s going to go in,” Ryan said. “Just the belief in myself that came from my teammates.”
While the offense surged, the defense remained consistent in its efforts to limit the damage from the Manhattan attack. Despite the game’s high 16 point third quarter, the Bobcats still held a solid lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
In that final 10 minutes, junior forward Anna Foley got in on the scoring fun, with eight of her nine points coming in the final quarter. The Jaspers would push one last time, but it was too little too late as the final horn rang and the Bobcats 59-43 win became final.
The Bobcats will now face the winner of Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal matchup between the No. 4 Iona Gaels and the No. 5 Siena Saints. Heading into the matchup, Quinnipiac is keeping its mindset in three simple phrases: Belief, Together and All-In.
“We know what we have,” Grisdale said. “It’s just a joy to play together and I think we show that every time we step on the court.”
Tip-off from Jim Whealen Boardwalk Hall is set for 12 p.m on Sunday, March 8.
Senior forward Ella O’Donnell dribbles down the court against Manhattan