FAIRFIELD — Quinnipiac women’s basketball team had gone 1,083 days since its last win against the Fairfield Stags at Leo D. Mahoney Arena. On Thursday night, the Bobcats snapped the streak, handing Fairfield their first in conference loss of the season in a performance that could only be described as dominant.

“That could be a top five performance in my 30 years of coaching,” head coach Tricia Fabbri said.

In their second win against the Stags in the last three years, Coach Fabbri emphasized the importance of the win for her squad with the MAAC championships in Atlantic City looming in a matter of months.

“They have belief leaving tonight that they can go and do what they want to do come March,” she said.

Quinnipiac started the game by doing what they’ve done in nearly every game during their win streak: taking the lead and holding it for the full 40 minutes.

A longball from freshman guard Ella Ryan opened the scoring for Quinnipiac. Her sister, senior forward Sydney Ryan, joined in on the scoring next with a three pointer of her own. Those buckets combined with dominance of senior forward Ella O’Donnell and junior forward Anna Foley in the post led Quinnipiac to 19 point first quarter.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bobcats had a tall order: stopping the 28th best offense in the nation. At the head of that attack is junior guard Kaety L’Amoreaux, who is averaging nearly 20 points a game.

With a tall order in front of her, Fabbri leaned on her captain, graduate student guard Jackie Grisdale, to deliver.

And deliver, she did.

Despite L’Amoreaux’s six point first quarter, Grisdale would shut her down for the remaining 30 minutes. From the second quarter on, the Endwell, N.Y. native would only make one singular field goal, ending the game with 10 points.

Coming into the game, the Stags averaged 12.5 made three pointers per game leading the entire NCAA. In the first half, Fairfield netted one longball. That defensive supremacy combined with more contributions from a red hot Bobcat offense saw the Quinnipiac lead grow to seven points by the half.

In the second half, Fairfield slowly began to stir to life.

Despite the rejuvenated Stag attack, the Bobcats continued to respond time in and time out. When L’Amoreaux knocked down two free throws to bring the game within five, Grisdale knocked down a three pointer to keep them at bay. When Fairfield’s junior road runner Meghan Andersen hit a momentum shifting three pointer, Ella Ryan would make a longball of her own.

The second half also saw junior guard Karson Martin completely take control of the Quinnipiac offense. Out of her 19 total points, 14 of them came in the final 20 minutes. Despite her best statistical performance of the season, Martin came into the game with a simple mindset.

“I just needed to play basketball,” Martin said.

Fabbri also gave high praise to the Georgia native.

“She is fearless and plays with a moxie,” Fabbri said. “I’m glad that she’s wearing a Bobcat uniform.”

As the fourth quarter began, the longball finally began to come together for the Stags. But it was too little, too late for Fairfield. The Quinnipiac offensive onslaught continued until the final horn rang, handing Fairfield its first home loss since Nov. 12, 2024.

Quinnipiac returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 31 against the Merrimack Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled from Hamden for 2 p.m.