The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team kept its playoff hopes alive by defeating Monmouth, 78-69, on Thursday, as senior Courtney Kaminski continued to put the Bobcats on her back.
Kaminski netted a game-high 25 points, while fellow senior Kathleen Neyens contributed 21 points and four assists.
Monmouth, who trailed by nine points at half, came back to take a 57-56 lead midway through the second half. But the Bobcats got their offensive rhythm back on a three-point play from Lisa Lebak that put her team on top 59-57.
After the Bobcats captured the lead, Kaminski and Neyens controlled the rest of the game from the field and the free throw line. Both players went a combined 17-for-17 from the free throw line and 13-for-29 from the floor.
Consistent free throw shooting was a large factor in holding off Monmouth. The hawks didn’t take advantage of the same opportunities, only going 9-for-16 from the free throw line.
The Bobcats also got a spark from outstanding perimeter shooting from Neyens, who hit three of her four 3-point attempts in the game.
“I think our defense was not as sharp to start the second half, but the perimeter shooting of Kathleen really sparked our offense down the stretch,” Bobcat head coach Tricia Fabbri said.
With the win the Bobcats completed a season sweep of Monmouth and improved to 11-17 on the season and 6-11 in conference play.
This is the first time in program history that the Bobcats swept the season series against Monmouth.
Quinnipiac’s playoff hopes are still alive as they are now in a three-way tie with Wagner and Mount St. Mary’s with a 6-11 conference record for eighth place in the Northeast Conference.
In order to reach the conference tournament, the Bobcats will need some help, as Mount St. Mary’s holds the tiebreaker over the Bobcats. Quinnipiac will conclude its regular season when they travel to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
