Coming off a three game winless streak the Quinnipiac Women’s Basketball team shattered their losses with a giant victory at the Burt Khan Court in Hamden on Jan. 31.
All eyes were on senior Katie Caputi, the star player during both halves of the contest. She tossed a career high 22 points along with a perfect eight for eight in field shots and sank five of six three-pointers in the first half of the game.
Quinnipiac (8-11, 5-6) played strong to upset eleventh place St. Francis (NY) 80-67. St. Francis (3-15, 1-8) stepped up with a 12-6 lead at 9:53 in the first half with three consecutive three-point shots sunk by guards Kim Weir (12 points), Colleen Carbone (12 points) and center Candice Abellard (eight points).
QU was in no way affected by this brief trailing point in the first half. Sara Edisore (14 points) made that true as she took a jump shot to spark a 14-3 run with 5:08 remaining in the first half, which left Quinnipiac with a 40-36 lead at halftime. (check that)
Edisore tried to take over while senior Katie Caputi took a breather on the bench.
“When Katie was out of the game someone had to score, I took that upon myself,” she said.
Sophomore Ashlee Kelly who had seven points hit a lay-up, which pulled the score to 47-36 leaving Quinnipiac with a high ten point lead two minutes into the second half.
Head Coach Tricia Sacca-Fabbri could not speak enough about Caputi.
“She really carried us in the first half. Her actions spoke vibes again.”
Quinnipiac also dominated the Terriers in the paint, with scorers Kelly, Esidore and Theresa Sanchez.
Three Terrier starters, Kim Weir with 12 points and a team-high of five rebounds, Colleen Carbone who had 12 points and Antoinette Saita who scored seven points, fouled out.
QU senior Sanchez, who had six points, nailed a jump shot to enhance a team-high lead (67-47) midway through the second half, which set the pace for the Quinnipiac Women. The pace carried QU to the foul line with 2:20 left in the game. The last and final shooter, Caputi, canned four for four baskets, which left St. Francis with a worthless rally.
“I think tonight really had a convincing win – it’s going to help our confidence and get us back to the level we were at in the earlier part of the season,” said Sacca-Fabbri.