After a frustrating 71-56 loss to Wagner on Jan. 25 in Staten Island, the Lady Braves defeated the Lady Seahawks in a fashionable way on National Women’s Sports Day, 63-53, in front of a record women’s crown of 776 at Burt Kahn Court. With this win Quinnipiac improves to 6-5 in the Northeast Conference, good for sixth place, and 9-11 overall. The Lady Braves equaled their win total from the past two seasons. Coach Tricia Sacca said “we had a different mental approach and we made an effort to come out and play the game. I thought our defense was tremendous.” Quinnipiac held Wagner to 38% from the field.
Quinnipiac came out strong in the first half to take a convincing 13-4 lead with 12:48 to play on a short jumper by Kim Misiaszek. Misiaszek, a senior center, finished with her fourth double double of the season, pouring in a team high 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists. Freshman center Ashlee Kelly returned to action after a concussion in practice on Jan. 3. Kelly, a PA native, scored 9 points and grabbed 4 boards. Quinnipiac went to the locker room with a demanding 31-19 halftime lead on three treys by freshman forward Sara Esidore in the last 2:11 of the half, who tied her season high with 12 points.
The Lady Braves opened up the second half strong and continued to dominate, taking a 38-29 lead on a jumper by senior Colleen Klopp, who finished with 9 points. With 7:30 left to play in the game, Misiaszek scored a layup on a drive from the left top of the key to give the Braves a 50-36 cushion. Wagner then went on a 10-0 run led by freshman guard Ashley Linscott, who finished with a game high 18 points. The Lady Seahawks did to let the Braves score for 5:30 minutes to cut the deficit to 50-46 with 3:05 to play. Wagner fouled for the last 1:30 of the game and the Braves made their foul shots when they needed to, but were only 14 of 23 at the charity stripe. Point guard Kara Cassidy scored 10 points and had 3 assists. The Braves are in action again Saturday February 10, against UMBC, as they continue their quest for the NCAA tournament.