Quinnipiac women’s basketball didn’t lead for a single second Thursday night, falling to Mount St. Mary’s 56-50.

It was an uphill battle for the Bobcats from the get-go, with the hosts jumping out to a quick double-digit lead in the first quarter. Quinnipiac relied on sophomore forward Ella O’Donnell early and often. The Ireland native scored six of the Bobcats’ first eight points, before finishing with 15 in the loss. 

The Mountaineers came out firing from deep, connecting on half of their first quarter threes. Mount St. Mary’s closed the first quarter on a 9-2 run, thanks to a stout defensive effort, to take a 20-8 lead after one. 

Senior guard Jessica Tomasetti killed the Bobcats on the offensive end, pouring in ten first half points, which helped the Mountaineers take a massive 31-17 lead midway through the second quarter. The Bobcats were able to get the deficit down to 11, but still headed into the halftime locker room trailing 34-23. 

The two sides went back and forth during the third quarter. Junior forward Grace LaBarge played a key role in helping the Bobcats stay afloat, knocking down multiple timely shots in the frame. Freshman guard Ava Sollenne backed up LaBarge’s effort, a pair of threes from Quinnipiac’s newest addition to the rotation got the bench going

LaBarge was the catalyst for a 10-0 run late in the third, after knocking down a pair of free throws to end the quarter, the visitors found themselves trailing by just six. 

Quinnipiac battled the entire fourth quarter, but a 5-0 Mount run midway through the quarter to put the hosts up eight, pretty much put the game away. The Bobcats had some life late, but junior guard Jo Raflo put the visitors to bed, connecting on a deep three with just over a minute left to put the game out of reach. 

Following the loss, Quinnipiac will head home to face Iona on Jan. 13. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.