HAMDEN, Conn – The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team dominated Saint Peter’s en route to a 62-45 victory Thursday night. 

When the two teams met back in December, Quinnipiac struggled to score, shooting under 30% in the first quarter. That wasn’t the case in the second matchup, as the Bobcats came out scorching hot, knocking down seven of their 13 first-quarter shots. 

“We’re never going to be shy (about shooting the ball) that’s for sure,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said.

Senior forward Cur’Tiera Haywood got the Bobcats off to a quick start, contributing to five of the Bobcats’ first nine points of the contest. 

The Peacocks came out in a 2-3 zone defense, prompting the Bobcats to move the ball around the perimeter, dumping the ball inside to their post players to attack mismatches inside the paint. 

“I would have liked to have seen us pass one more time,” Fabbri said. “We would have gotten better percentage offense overall, I think when I go back and look at it, we were one more pass away when (senior forward) Mikala (Morris) got the ball a lot, because we were so tall, the focus was high-low … But I think if we’re able to get it, check it, and swing it one more, that’s where we have to go with our offense.”

Despite Fabbri’s wishes for the Bobcats to swing the ball more, the high-low offense did work, especially against an extremely guard-heavy Saint Peter’s team. 

Quinnipiac scored 28 of its 62 points in the paint. Additionally, the hosts were able to score 16 second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds. 

Graduate student forward Mary Baskerville, who was taller than every player on the Peacocks at 6-foot-3, was borderline unstoppable. The Providence transfer got it done on both ends of the floor, swatting away a shot on the defensive end before overpowering her matchup for an easy layup on the other, putting Quinnipiac up 13 in the second quarter. 

"Not here!!" – @oxmaryox pic.twitter.com/dsVvjROnKU

— Quinnipiac Women's Basketball (@QU_WBB) January 19, 2023

“She brings a great presence in the post for us,” Haywood said. “Offensively and defensively, we know we can count on her to get boards and protect the rim, and then it’s easy to throw some lobs to her and get her some easy buckets.”

Quinnipiac’s hot shooting from the first quarter cooled down to under 30% in the second, mostly in part to a 2-for-10 slump from beyond the arc. The Bobcats were still able to head to the locker room with a 31-18 advantage at the break. 

The Bobcats’ shooting woes continued into the third, as they opened just 1-6 in the second frame. However, their defensive efforts maintained the double-digit advantage over a Peacocks team that was searching for their first win of the season. 

Haywood battled for a tough and-one late in the third, pushing the Quinnipiac lead to 17 – the largest of the game. Haywood’s 14 points lead the Bobcats’ offensive effort, to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. 

The Peacocks switched between man and zone looks to try to match the Bobcat’s size, and while they were effective inside, they still didn’t have an answer to any of the Bobcats’ post players. 

Morris grabbed another offensive rebound, putting it back in as the third-quarter buzzer sounded with Quinnipiac leading 44-29.

MIK AT THE BUZZER!!! COUNT IT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Agg5SZWpqb

— Quinnipiac Women's Basketball (@QU_WBB) January 20, 2023

The size mismatch got even more unfair when Saint Peter’s sophomore forward Jada Williams fouled out with six minutes remaining. Without their best interior defender, the Peacocks had little chance of battling back. 

Trailing by such a large margin, the Peacocks began to implement  full-court pressure, but the Bobcats ran down as much clock as they could over the final minutes for the victory. 

Quinnipiac improved to 5-3 in MAAC play with the win, as the Bobcats continue to battle it out with Iona, Niagara, Siena and Fairfield at the top of the conference standings. 

The Bobcats will be back in action on Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. when they travel to Poughkeepsie  to take on Marist.