After looking out of rhythm early, with the help from a 27-point second quarter, Quinnipiac women’s basketball rolled past the Canisius Golden Griffins 73-55 Thursday night to stay undefeated in conference play.
Quinnipiac improved to 19-4 overall and 14-0 in the MAAC, while Canisius fell to 4-19 and 2-12.
The Golden Griffins entered the night leading the MAAC in opponent three-point percentage at 27.5 percent, while being one of top defensive rebounding teams in the conference alongside Quinnipiac.
The Bobcats shot 5-for-16 from deep and instead leaned on ball movement with junior guard Paige Girardi managing the floor and getting the ball to the right players.
Quinnipiac’s offense never found consistency in the opening 10 minutes, shooting 4-for-12 in the first quarter.
Canisius took advantage of this drought with a late push, leaning on sophomore forward Yasmine Djibril and junior forward Shariah Gailes to steady the pace.
Djibril’s short jumper with around two minutes left tied the game at eight, and she followed with a layup shortly after that, which helped Canisius grab the lead.
Junior guard Kelsey Bess knocked down a three-pointer at the start of the second quarter to keep Canisius in the lead 14-10.
However, Quinnipiac would never look back, as head coach Tricia Fabbri and company would take all the momentum away from the Golden Griffins.
After graduate student guard Jackie Grisdale remained scoreless in the first quarter, she turned what should have been an easy inbound into a steal, leading to a score.
Shortly after, junior guard Karson Martin would jump in front of a passing lane for another takeaway and another bucket. When Martin buried a deep three around seven minutes left in the quarter, the Bobcats held the lead 17-15.
From there, Quinnipiac kept scoring, as 22 of the Bobcats’ 27 points in the quarter came off the bench, with Martin scoring nine. By halftime, Quinnipiac had turned a three-point deficit into a 10 point advantage.
Canisius tried to make it a game again, opening the half with junior guard Mary Copple hitting a three, but Quinnipiac responded with key rebounds helping stop the Golden Knights from scoring further. The Bobcats took the third quarter 19-11 to extend their lead to 54-36.
Freshman guard Ella Ryan opened the fourth with two free throws, and the Bobcats’ bench kept delivering. Quinnipiac led by 31 points at one point in the quarter, and would seal the deal with around five minutes left with a Grisdale three-pointer to ice the game.
Junior forward Anna Foley finished the night with 16 points. Martin added 14 points and hit two three-pointers, while Grisdale finished with 12.
As a team, Quinnipiac shot 31 for 62, won the rebound battle 37-31 and committed only nine turnovers. The Bobcats forced 15 Canisius turnovers and turned them into 17 points, while holding the Golden Griffins to 3 for 15 from three-point range.
Quinnipiac stays in western New York for another road matchup against the Niagara Purple Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
