The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team extended its win streak to four games Saturday afternoon when it defeated the Manhattan Jaspers 59-54 in Riverdale, N.Y. With the win, the Bobcats improve their record to 5-1 while the Jaspers fell to 3-4.
Quinnipiac had a balanced attack with three players scoring in double figures, led by Erin Kerner’s 15. Sophomore Mandy Pennewell and freshman Courtney Kaminski also chipped in with 10 points each, while Monique Lee grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and added seven points.
For the Jaspers, Kelly Regan led the way with 15 points while Caitlin Flood earned a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bobcats started the game with a bang, jumping out to an early 9-0 lead. The hot shooting continued as the Bobcats extended their lead to 14-2, with Hannalee Pervan scoring six of the points. But the ‘Cats finally cooled off and the Jaspers were able to get back into the game. Manhattan went on a 17-4 run and grabbed its first lead of the game, 19-18, at the 6:51 mark of the first half. The Jaspers were able to capitalize on Quinnipiac’s early foul trouble by scoring eight points from the free throw line. But Erin Kerner was able to answer with a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding and help Quinnipiac take a 29-26 lead going into the second half.
Erin Kerner had nine points at halftime, leading all scorers, while Kelly Regan led the Jaspers with eight. But poor shooting certainly hurt both teams in the first half as the Bobcats shot a lowly 28.6 percent from the field, while the Jaspers were not much better at 29.2 percent.
Quinnipiac again started with a spurt in the second half, going on a 10-4 run to extend its lead to 39-30. The lead would eventually grow to 10, but the Jaspers once again were able to fight back and cut the lead to three with 1:35 left after a three point play from Flood. But Kaminski was able to hit two free throws with less than a minute to go to seal the victory for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac ended up shooting 32.7 percent from the floor while the Jaspers shot it at an even 30 percent. Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds apiece. Even though it was their lowest scoring output of the season, the Bobcats’ defense really stepped up to help get the win, tallying three blocks and 12 steals.
Head coach Tricia Fabbri knew her team would have to play hard and battle to get this tough win and was impressed with the result. “That was a very hard-fought win on the road against a very good club that beat Hartford a week ago on this court. They play very well at home,” Fabbri said. “I’m proud of the girls. They found a way to win. It wasn’t the most crisp play, but it was a good win.”
The Bobcats will return to action Thursday night when they open their Northeast Conference schedule against St. Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.
