In front of a booming crowd of 3,025 people on College Experience Day, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team(12-6, 7-0 MAAC) defeated the Siena Saints (8-19, 4-3 MAAC) on Friday in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference matinee, by a final score of 68-31.

Despite the rocking atmosphere from the 3,000-plus screaming fans from several elementary schools, the game got off to a rather slow start. It wasn’t until after the five minute mark that a team put points on the board, as junior forward Paige Warfel hit a three. At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats were only up 8-2. Warfel’s 3-pointer was the catalyst that jump-started the Bobcats.

[media-credit id=2249 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]“Slow start to an electric atmosphere,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “Once Paige hit the three we started to settle in, great second quarter heading into the locker room and we just didn’t look back.”

That shot by Warfel contributed to her first career double-double and the second on the year for the Bobcats, as she finished the day with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“It’s super exciting,” Warfel said. “I feel like I’ve just been right there a couple of times, and finally got that extra rebound so it’s really exciting. It is really cool to get that momentum going for the team.”

Four of Warfel’s rebounds came off the defensive glass, and she had two steals. This contributed to a defensive effort that held the Saints to their lowest first half score and final score of the season at nine and 31, respectively.

Senior forward Aryn McClure and Martin both joined Warfel in scoring double digits, dropping 14 and 10, respectively. No Saint was able to reach double digits on the day, but junior guard Sabrina Piper led the team with eight points before being ejected due to receiving two technical fouls. Half of Piper’s points contributed to the Saints’ 29-9 first half deficit.

“We just bring it every single game,” senior guard Brittany Martin said. “Offense isn’t always going to be there, you’re not always going to make your shots, but defense is something that you can control 100-percent of the time.”

There was an injury in the game as redshirt-senior forward Jen Fay left the game after landing awkwardly following a layup. While Fay didn’t return to the game, she remained on the bench with her teammates. According to Fabbri, Fay is going to be looked at by a doctor and she’s optimistic about the results.

Fay is currently leading the Bobcats with 11.9 points per game and 56 assists. The injury bug is hanging around the Bobcats as sophomore guard Chiara Bacchini and redshirt sophomore Vanessa Udoji are out for the season. According to Martin, the team shouldn’t have any trouble adapting if Fay misses any time.

“Coach likes to mix things up sometimes during practice,” Martin said. “We get to play with each other and kind of get that rhythm with different people that you haven’t really played with so it’s good, really good.”

The Bobcats look ahead to Sunday, Jan. 27 in New Rochelle, New York when they take on the Iona Gaels who are winless in MAAC play and have one win overall. The Gaels are currently sitting on a 15-game losing streak.

“We’ve got another game coming up on Sunday,” Martin said. “So tomorrow we’ll get in the gym, watch some film, get out on the court, run through their stuff and hopefully we can have another great win.”