It wasn’t supposed to end this way for the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team. Not after taking the Northeast Conference by storm and advancing all the way to the conference championship game in 2006.

Quinnipiac, however, was dealt a number of crushing blows this season. The Bobcats lost two of their best players in sophomores Erin Kerner and Kathleen Neyens to injury.

In a neck-and-neck battle that went down to the wire, the Bobcats ended up on the wrong end of a 63-58 score, as they were bounced from the playoffs by the Monmouth Hawks before a crowd of 329 Saturday at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

The game featured a number of lead changes, including four in one critical three-minute transition.

“There was a lot of ups and downs [throughout the season],” a dejected sophomore guard Brianna Rooney said.

Rooney did all she could to help the Bobcats avoid a first-round flameout.

The sophomore combo guard scored 14 points, dealt out five assists and had a game-high five steals in 38 minutes.

Ultimately, it was not enough. The game was a fierce battle that left Quinnipiac with a 16-12 overall record (10-8 NEC).

“They’re going to have all their top players back,” Monmouth head coach Michele Baxter of the Bobcats. “We’re going to have all our players back, so we’re going to have some battles over the next couple of years.”

Rooney said that Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri didn’t say much after the game.

“She told us, ‘keep your heads up,'” Rooney said.