ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Playoff season for Quinnipiac has come to an end, just one win shy from March Madness.
The Bobcats found themselves in a lopsided MAAC Championship, losing 76-53 to No.1 Fairfield while putting up their lowest point total of the season.
As expected, the game between the MAAC’s top two seeds started out neck-and-neck, with the scoreboard reading 15-15 with 1:14 left in the first quarter.
But that was the last time Quinnipiac would even sniff a tie with Fairfield.
Quinnipiac’s perimeter defense was nonexistent. It seemed like almost every other Stags possession, the scheme crafted by Fairfield head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis found a way to get her players open from beyond-the-arc.
After junior guard Sydni Scott drained her second consecutive triple, she confidently waved three fingers in the air to signify her dominance from downtown, as the Bobcats deficit continued to grow.
It didn’t help matters that Fairfield’s fan base showed out. The number of Stags supporters in the stands far outweighed the fans for the women in blue and gold.
Every Quinnipiac turnover, every minute that passed in the second quarter and every time a Fairfield player made a shot, the crowd only grew louder and louder.
It was almost symbolic, the louder the roars of the crowd were, the bigger hole Quinnipiac found itself in.
Those Bobcats that dominated the second quarter of games all year long? They must’ve missed the drive from the hotel.
The Stags took over the entire second quarter. That 15-15 tie mentioned earlier? Fairfield responded with a 10-0 run and refused to take the pedal off the gas.
The team’s defensive scheme kept freshman point guard Gal Raviv in check. Despite 12 first half points, the MAAC Player of the Year shot 5-14 from the field.
Along with Raviv, the rest of the team couldn’t find an answer for the Stag’s defensive efforts, often having to use most of the shot clock in order to craft a shot attempt that might fall in with a little luck. There were no open looks for Quinnipiac, and the score sat at 41-26 as the second quarter ended.
So halftime came, head coach Tricia Fabbri and company had an opportunity to make adjustments and keep the Bobcats in the race for a MAAC title.
How did they respond?
Right out the gate, sophomore center Anna Foley hit a layup to stop the bleeding from the first half. Then the Andover, Massachusetts native made a fadeaway floater to start a momentum swing, and a few moments later hit yet another jumper.
Deficit down to nine.
But Quinnipiac’s troubles with perimeter defense persisted, Scott continued to shoot the lights out from downtown. By the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats were facing a 12 point deficit.
The fourth quarter was not kind to Quinnipiac. Already down double-digits, the Bobcats could not figure out how to stop Fairfield’s three point barrage. It’s not like the Stags were shooting the lights out before this game either.
Fairfield shot just 12% from beyond-the-arc in the win over No. 4 Mount St. Mary’s. Against Quinnipiac? 52%.
There were no answers for Scott all game long. The Prospect Park, Pennsylvania native finished the game with 18 points, all three pointers while shooting 100% from downtown.
“In practice my coaches tell me to keep moving,” Scott said. “Even if they’re dribbling you either move to the corner or move to the wing. I was following the ball and that’s how it allowed me to get my shot.”
The game was long over before the final seconds waned from the clock, but when the game clock rang zeroes, reality set in for Quinnipiac.
“Obviously this hurts,” Fabbri said. “It’s really disappointing not to get what we really wanted after the year that we had … more basketball is ahead of us. It’s not where we wanna be, but we’re gonna make the most of it going forward.”
Despite the loss and a flurry of emotions coming from all angles, the players continue to stick together as one unit.
“Everybody on this roster is a family this year,” Foley said. “Win or lose, we’re so grateful to have the opportunity at all.”
This moment is still fresh, but eventually Fabbri and the rest of the coaching staff will have to gear up for next year. Recruiting players, maintaining the ones on the roster and figuring out how to get over the hump and win a MAAC Championship.
But when asked about what the future looks like, Fabbri explained how she and the rest of the team are still in the present.
“It’s hard to look forward when you’re just in the moment right now with what comes next,” Fabbri said. “So I think I’ll better answer that question in a couple of days.”
Over those next couple of days, Quinnipiac will look to rebuild and retain as the young core of players currently on the roster show no sign of slowing down. Another year of experience together, and who knows what’s possible.
But for now, the Bobcats are likely thinking about what could’ve been rather than what’s in store.
