The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team couldn’t find consistent shooting all day, which ultimately led to a 61-52 loss to Fairfield Sunday afternoon at TD Bank Sports Center.
The Bobcats didn’t have an answer for Fairfield’s Felicia DaCruz, who led the game in scoring with 19 points. She shot 50 percent from the field and helped open up shots for everyone around her.
Quinnipiac never possessed a lead in the game as Fairfield took a 28-22 lead going into the half. It was a game that was managed by the Stags throughout both halves, which forced the Bobcats to play a defensive-minded game.
“We really dug in defensively for the rest of the game,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We didn’t make enough shots obviously to win the game, getting stuck at 52 but I thought a big part of the game was them going to the line 26 times to our eight.”
Both Brittany McQuain and Boo Abshire found themselves in foul trouble early in the game, when Fabbri had to rely on her bench players to come in and play tough defense against Fairfield’s offensive surge.
“When you have Boo and Sam, and Brittany in the first half all down with fouls, we really weathered a very tough storm,” Fabbri said. “I give credit to my team. I thought we played through some real adversity out on the floor and we really hung in there.”
McQuain didn’t have the offensive game she was expecting after coming off an 18-point performance against Rider on Tuesday. Once she found herself in foul trouble she was never able to find a groove driving to the basket.
Quinnipiac eventually cut the lead to four with just under two minutes to play but Fairfield’s Kristin Schatzlein put in a couple of open lane baskets to open up the lead as time dwindled.
The Stags were able to maintain solid shooting in the second half, when they shot 42.3 percent as a team. Shooting 26 times from the line proved to be the difference as they had more free-scoring chances than Quinnipiac.
“We didn’t shoot the ball all that well, that’s why they were able to still sit in that zone,” Fabbri said. “Searching for someone to get on court to hit a couple for us to get us over the hump and play with a lead. That didn’t happen today.”
The game started with a 10-0 run in Fairfield’s favor, which forced the Bobcats to adjust their game.
“We really have focused so much from a defensive perspective that we need to find more balance,” Fabbri said. “We saw our struggles offensively our last game at Rider so we need to get more balance without losing the defensive focus.”
The Bobcat’s fall into fourth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after Sunday’s lost.
