ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Bobcats advanced to the MAAC Semifinals with a 79-51 win against No. 10 Iona in the MAAC Quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon, though the game looked to be a tight one from the jump.
After a three-pointer by Iona senior guard Ella Fajardo tied the game at 21 with 7:37 remaining in the second quarter, the Gaels put the Bobcats on upset watch.
Iona held freshman standout point guard Gal Raviv to two points early, with most of Quinnipiac’s scoring coming from sophomore guard Karson Martin and junior forward Ella O’Donnell in the first quarter.
This was as close a the Gaels got to the Bobcats for the rest of the game. After a three-pointer by senior guard Jackie Grisdale, Quinnipiac went on a 22-7 run to end the second quarter and a 58-30 run to end the game.
The box score will show Raviv’s dominance, but the bench — like it has been this season — was a key factor for the Bobcats to advance to the MAAC Semifinals.
The group of graduate student forward Caranda Perea, junior guard Bri Bowen, O’Donnell, sophomore guard Paige Girardi, combined for 29 bench points by the Bobcats.
“Caranda, Paige and Ella, all year have been doing really well,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “Their productivity today was second to none.
“I think (Bowen) allows us to continue to do what we like to do defensively, and she really brings some great toughness and rebounding that I think we need, and she infuses that with us, and the ball finds Bri.”
O’Donnell — who primarily comes off the bench — made the most of her time on the floor. In just nine minutes of game time due to foul trouble, the Shankill, Ireland native had 12 points to lead the Bobcats’ bench.
She got started early with six points in the first quarter, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
“I think from the get go, I was very locked in and focused,” O’Donnell said. “Once the mental aspect of it was checked in, I was ready to go throughout the game.”
Like O’Donnell, Girardi provided a spark, mostly from behind the arc, with 10 of her 15 field goals this season coming from the three-pointer.
On Wednesday, it was nothing different with the sophomore guard hitting two triples. In relief of Raviv and Martin, the Warwick, New York native was able to provide a crucial 18 minutes.
With sophomore guard Ava Sollenne leaving warmups early with an apparent lower-body injury, according to Fabbri, it opens the door for Girardi to see more playing time in Atlantic City.
Out of the four bench players who produced scoring, Perea spent the most time in the starting lineup. Coming in as a transfer from Tulsa, Perea started 17 out of the first 19 games, but recently fell out of Fabbri’s rotation, playing single-digit minutes in the last three regular season games.
“Caranda Perea scoring some buckets, that gave us that breathing room and allowed us to extend to have another really good second quarter,” Fabbri said.
Perea was another key part of the Bobcats’ 22-7 run to close the first half with a three-pointer that got the bench fired up and added a jumper before the horn sounded.
The bench will be a vital point for the rest of the MAAC tournament if the Bobcats want to make it back to March Madness. That road continues March 14 at 2:30 p.m. against either No. 3 Siena Saints or No. 6 Merrimack Warriors.
