As the wind rocked the trees outside Quinnipiac’s TD Bank Sports Center, the Bobcats rocked the Catamounts inside. Three Bobcats tallied double digits as the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team defeated the University of Vermont 76-67 in its first win of the season Wednesday afternoon.
“Everyone played together,” sophomore point guard Felicia Barron said. “I feel like we got better as a team this game. We played as a team and a lot of people contributed to the points. I thought we came out really well.”
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Barron recorded 10 of her 17 points in the first half, while teammates Kari Goodchild and Brittany McQuain totaled 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Vermont also had players with double digit points, as Tonya Young registered 29 points and Lauren Wheeler scored 13 points.
Going into Wednesday’s game, both the Bobcats (1-5) and the Catamounts (0-6) were 0-5 on the season. Barron said the win came down to three things.
“I think it came down to who wanted it more, who hustled for the last minutes of the game and just getting the open shots and putting the ball in the basket,” the sophomore guard said.
After a close first half, the Bobcats exited the locker room ready to take control of the game. Quinnipiac doubled its original 38 points to total 76.
“I thought we were fantastic out of the locker room starting the second half,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “I think that’s the best I’ve seen my team come out of the locker room in a couple of years.”
The Bobcats went on a 13-0 scoring streak, holding the Catamounts off until 6:26 into the second half.
“If you want it, go get it; be hungry,” Fabbri told her team during halftime. “And they were really hungry. They wanted this win, and they just steamrolled out of the locker room, and they did it.”
As the gap closed between the two scores, the Bobcats continued to hold off the Catamounts until the clock ran out.
“They’re capable of a really, really great season,” Fabbri said. “I’m just really happy that they earned this one tonight, were able to get this one to build on going into a conference game on Saturday, which is huge.”
Quinnipiac opens up Northeast Conference play Saturday at 12 p.m. against Wagner.
“[Our goal is] just to smash them,” Barron said about Saturday’s game. “Just to go out and play like we did today, but play even better and come out with a win.”
