HAMDEN — Quinnipiac women’s basketball secured a 60-40 win over Manhattan Saturday afternoon while honoring graduating students on senior day before tip-off.
The special ceremony included senior forward Grace LaBarge, graduate student forward Caranda Perea and redshirt junior center Khadijah Tungo.
“Once I made the decision to stay here, (Quinnipiac) became my family, they became my second home,” LaBarge said. “Coach Fabbri has been like my second mom here, and all the coaches and all my teammates have been like my family.”
The celebration created a special atmosphere as fellow Bobcats cheered on their graduating teammates.
That energy translated to the court, as Quinnipiac and Manhattan put on a show in the first half.
The second half? All Bobcats.
“I love (the game) defensively,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “I thought we could be a little more efficient offensively, but wire-to-wire it was a really good team win today.”
For Quinnipiac, a majority of its recent games have been lopsided affairs, outsourcing opponents by double digits. Aside from a come-from-behind victory against Iona, the Bobcats haven’t been truly tested in the month of February.
However, Quinnipiac was put to the test especially early on in the game.
“We know that we need to win and we need to execute,” sophomore guard Karson Martin said. “So we just need to be patient and have fun.”
Manhattan, who has always matched up against Quinnipiac well, brought a different type of energy to Hamden. The first two quarters brought defense, fouls and a little bit of controversy from officiating.
During the final two minutes of the second quarter, Manhattan sophomore forward Tegan Young took a routine drive to the basket but was stopped in her tracks by Perea.
Rather than immediately passing to a teammate, Young appeared to double dribble before getting rid of the ball. The non-whistle from the referees caused an eruption from the Quinnipiac bench, causing a roar from the crowd and Fabbri to jump out of her seat and motion for a travel call.
Despite the apparent no-call, Quinnipiac maintained an 11-point lead at halftime after junior forward Ella O’Donnell grabbed an offensive rebound and put up a buzzer-beating layup.
The second half saw the Bobcats trying to maintain their lead while playing safe yet efficient basketball. Quinnipiac returned the favor to Manhattan on defense as the Jaspers only scored nine points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth, a huge reason why the Bobcats were able to pull away.
Despite the loss, Manhattan was able to accomplish something no other team has come close to doing, slowing down freshman point guard Gal Raviv. Raviv has been a force to be reckoned with throughout her freshman campaign, but the Jaspers had her number.
Raviv shot 6-20 from the field with five attempts and zero makes from beyond the arc. Despite the poor efficiency, she still recorded a double-double with 10 defensive boards.
Even with Raviv in a slump, Manhattan had no answers for Quinnipiac’s rebounding. Offensive boards were the name of the game for Quinnipiac, as the team had more than double Manhattan’s.
“I was really pleased with our effort off the glass defensively and offensively,” Fabbri said. “That’s something we need to continue to get more production out in that stack.”
Quinnipiac travels to New Jersey on Feb. 27 to take on Saint Peter’s. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
