Another game, another impressive win for the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team.
So impressive, in fact, that it might have topped the others to this point.
12 players scored on Saturday afternoon at the TD Bank Sports Center, and Quinnipiac went on to down Rider 96-54 for its 20th victory of the 2014-15 season.
The 96 points for the Bobcats was a season high, as was the 42-point victory margin.
“I thought for 40 minutes it was just a really well played game,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We continued to do what we do. We took care of the basketball. We shot the free throws really well. We out-rebounded them. We defended them. I thought we played really really hard.”
Samantha Guastella led the charge with 15 points and six rebounds in only 16 minutes. Guastella has registered double-digit points in 15 of Quinnipiac’s 23 games this season.
Guastella, and the rest of Quinnipiac’s starting lineup, has guided the Bobcats to a perfect 12-0 record in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play this year.
The starting five of Guastella, Jasmine Martin, Val Driscoll, Nicoline Ostergaard and Gillian Abshire have shot over 45 percent from the floor combined this year, and just over 40 percent from 3-point range.
“We just play really well together,” Guastella said. “We can all execute on offense, and we all see the floor well.”
Val Driscoll chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
“Really, the emphasis was taking advantage of our size in Val Driscoll down low,” Fabbri said. “Val played really hard, had great positioning. It’s really demoralizing when your 6-foot-4 center is able to get great positioning and just turn and lay it in.”
“If she’s playing the way she is now, I don’t think [anyone can stop her],” Guastella said of Driscoll. “She’s doing a great job posting up and sealing.”
Quinnipiac also scored 50 bench points, led by a career-high 13 points from freshman Sarah Shewan.
“At first, when I came here, I was really nervous as to what would be happening,” Shewan said. “But the way it is right now, I really enjoy it. This team is actually helping me grow as a player and feel more confident now than I did before.”
The Bobcats recorded 27 assists on 32 field goals made. At 12-0 in conference play, Quinnipiac leads the conference by two games.
“We know we have a long way to go,” Fabbri said. “We’re just trying to be at our best, set short term goals.”
With the win, Quinnipiac improves to 20-3 on the season. The Bobcats are back in action on Monday, as they host Iona at the TD Bank Sports Center for an 11 a.m. tip-off.
