HAMDEN — The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team cruised past Manhattan 71-59 Saturday afternoon en route to a 3-0 start to conference play, its best start since 2019.
Once again, freshman guard Karson Martin set the tone early. She’s been Quinnipiac’s best player to open its conference slate, averaging over 18 points a game, and began Saturday’s contest by scoring all of the Bobcats’ first five points.
“One of the things that is really beneficial for us is coming out hot,” freshman forward Anna Foley said. “Karson coming out with that three right away, just really got us going and lit the fire for us.”
Foley followed right behind Martin, scoring two quick buckets to give the hosts a 9-7 advantage midway through the frame. However, the second unit failed to match the energy the first unit brought. This allowed the Jaspers to close the quarter on an 8-0 burst and take a 15-11 advantage after one.
Led by Martin and fellow freshman guard Maria Kealy, the Bobcats’ full-court zone defense started to take shape in the second quarter. It held the visitors to just 1-9 shooting to open the frame, while capitalizing on the other end with a 10-2 run to grab a 26-19 lead.
“KarsonMartin and Maria Kealy were just fantastic in the back-court,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “Having Maria and Karson come of age for us on the perimeter, (freshman guard) Paige Girardi has been steady. It’s going to take all of us. It’s going to take a lot of players playing.”
From there, the two sides went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter. A tough jumper from freshman guard Kassidy Thompson found nylon right before the buzzer sounded, giving the hosts a 38-25 lead at the break.
Trading baskets was the name of the game in the third. Quinnipiac couldn’t really build on its lead and Manhattan couldn’t cut into the deficit. Freshman forward Petra Juric got going for the Jaspers, knocking down five of six to bring her point total to 16 on the afternoon (22 total).
However, Martin matched her. She earned a heavily contested layup to fall as the third quarter expired, allowing the Bobcats to head into the final frame with a 52-41 lead.
“It’s impressive, there’s no doubt about it,” Fabbri said. “I think it’s just how (Karson) goes about playing the game. She wants the ball in her hands to go make plays. That’s a separator from good to great player, when you have that mentality and she certainly has it.”
A Juric basket, followed by a triple from senior guard Ines Gimenez Monserrat, brought the Jaspers back within nine, with 6:28 to play.
But just like they did all afternoon, the Bobcats responded. Foley converted an and-one with 3:06 remaining to push the lead back to 11 and put the game on ice.
It was smooth sailing from there, as Quinnipiac closed out the Jaspers for a 71-59 victory, leading for 36 of the 40 minutes in the win. Martin continued her stellar season, finishing with 19, while Foley got back in her groove to finish with 13 points and five rebounds.
“You saw us just grind through it and get a nice victory today,” Fabbri said. “I think we’re going to be able to continue to build a foundation.”
The Bobcats will look to continue their undefeated conference campaign on Jan. 11, when they head to Maryland to face Mount St. Mary’s. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
