In a tale of two halves, the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team ushered in the new year with a 62-52 win over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers Saturday. 

The Bobcats were again without two of their biggest names: graduate student guard Mackenzie DeWees and graduate student forward Mary Baskerville, forcing head coach Trisha Fabbri to reach deep into her bag of tricks to grind out the win.

Luckily for Fabbri, she would not have to reach too deep. Senior forward Mikala Morris stole the show, racking up 22 points and eight rebounds. It was an afternoon to remember, as she became just the 17th Bobcat in Division I history (27th in program history) to record 1,000 points in a Quinnipiac uniform. It was also just the fifth time in her collegiate career scoring at least 20 points in a game. 

Yet the win did not come easily for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac led early before breaking down and surrendering an 11-0 run to the Mount to close out the first quarter. They trailed after 10 minutes by four at 16-12. 

In the second quarter, the Mountaineers led throughout. Quinnipiac seemingly had no answer for the scorching-hot Mountaineer offense. Graduate student guard Michaela Harrison led the way for the Mount with 11 points in the first two quarters. 

Mount St. Mary’s found success in a fast-paced, high-octane play style that Quinnipiac struggled to defend. Cross-court passes and aggressive rebounding helped the Mount jump out to a 37-32 lead at the end of the first half. 

But Fabbri would not let herself be outdone. The Bobcats adapted in the second half, changing their defensive scheme to counteract the Mountaineers’ offense. In the first half, the Mount took advantage of Quinnipiac’s man-defense approach, spacing out the floor and moving the ball to find the open shot.

With the defensive shift, the Bobcats took up a zone defense, limiting spacing and stifling the Mountaineer offense. The change allowed Quinnipiac to take control down the stretch. 

The Bobcats eventually retook the lead late in the third quarter, firing off a whopping 14-0 run. In the second half, Quinnipiac outscored Mount St. Mary’s 31-15 after utilizing both their offensive and defensive efforts. 

When it was all said and done, the Bobcats perched nicely atop the Mountaineers, winning the contest 62-52. With the win, Quinnipiac improved to 8-5 on the season (3-1 MAAC), as the Mount dropped to 5-8 (1-3 MAAC). 

The Mountaineers’ loss is their sixth on the road this season in as many games, leaving the team searching for answers for how to figure it out away from their home court.

Quinnipiac will now head up to Niagara to continue conference play, taking on the Purple Eagles on Jan. 5, with tip-off scheduled for 11 a.m.