With a program record for wins in a season already secured, and a strong chance of being the number one seed in this weekend’s Northeast Conference tournament, Quinnipiac University women’s basketball head coach Tricia Fabbri is confident in her team.
Still, the Bobcats aren’t looking back at this season’s accomplishments anytime soon.
Quinnipiac has faced stiff competition in the NEC from Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, and Long Island, who each round out the top four teams in the conference.
“Four teams that all have 20 wins this season,” Fabbri said. “The top of the league is very strong, but anyone can be beat in the NEC tournament, you just never know.”
The first and second round games of the tournament will be played March 8-9 at LIU, which is a new format for the women’s side. The conference championship game will be played March 16 at the home arena of the higher seed. If the Bobcats can lock up the number one seed, they would have the chance to host the championship game.
Coach Fabbri is one of the coaches in favor of the change.
“I’ve seen the tournament in a number of different formats,” Fabbri said. “I feel like this one, it gives it the best ‘tournament atmosphere.’ It should be exciting.”
Coming off of a first round upset loss to Monmouth last year, and an NEC championship game defeat at the hands of Sacred Heart two years ago, Fabbri and the Bobcats are poised for a championship.
“We proved during the season that we can win in our conference,” Fabbri said. “Hopefully we can take that momentum and run with it and play to our potential come tournament time.”
One potential match up for the Bobcats could be Monmouth, who handed them their only home loss of the season on Feb. 25
“No matter who we play, no matter how we did against them during the regular season, I want the team to maintain focus and enjoy the experience of playing in the tournament,” Fabbri said.
As for Coach Fabbri’s key to taking home an NEC Championship, she joked, “We need to win three in a row. But, we have to take it one game at a time.”
