The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team got off to a hot start against Manhattan Thursday night and never let go of its dominating lead, knocking off the Jaspers 52-38.

In winning their second matchup against the Jaspers, the Bobcats successfully completed a season sweep against Manhattan and extended their winning streak to three.

“We’ve had a great defensive team all year long,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said postgame on the ESPN+ broadcast. “I just thought we did a great job wire to wire.” 

Quinnipiac had double the amount of points in the paint that Manhattan had, as graduate student forward Mary Baskerville shined with seven points and eight rebounds.

Senior forward Cur’Tiera Haywood breathed life into the Quinnipiac offense often – the only player to reach double digits with 16. Haywood also racked up seven rebounds and a team-leading three steals in her commanding performance.

The star of the show for the Bobcats was their unforgiving defense, which allowed Manhattan to shoot just 18.6% from the field. Quinnipiac also dominated on the defensive glass, recording 10 more rebounds than the Jaspers.

“Defense turned into offense for us and gave us that double digit lead that we were able to hold onto,” Fabbri said. “I think both teams tonight had great defensive intensity, it was a battle on the inside, buckets are hard to come by going up against Manhattan.”

The Bobcats ability to hold onto the lead allowed them to cruise to the finish line, having the lead for an astounding 37 minutes. Passing was easy to come by for the Bobcats as well, with their 14 assists giving them a near two-to-one ratio to the Jaspers on the game.

Despite a third quarter slump where the Bobcats shot just 10% from the field, the team was able to rally in the fourth to put away the ball game and secure their 12th win of the season.

Aside from the victory, Quinnipiac got some big reinforcements back. Graduate student guard Mackenzie DeWees made her season debut after missing the first half of the year with a knee injury. Although DeWees recorded just a single point in limited minutes, the return of one of the Bobcats’ best bodes well for the team’s tournament hopes.

The Bobcats will have their next matchup on Jan. 28, when they host Siena at M&T Bank Arena in hopes of stretching their winning streak to three. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.