Bobcats, Stags move one step closer to MAAC title rubber match

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Conference tournament season always brings unexpected moments all across the country. Whether it be a major upset or a Cinderella run to an automatic bid, these things are what makes March the most exciting month on the calendar.

In some leagues, however, you just know what’s going to happen. A dominant team — in the MAAC women’s bracket’s case, two dominant teams — that just runs the table all the way to the championship and cuts down the nets as expected.

Quinnipiac and Fairfield have been the talk of the town all year, and after Friday’s quarterfinal games, are just one round away from getting a highly-anticipated third game. The Bobcats and Stags each went 19-1 in MAAC play this season, splitting their head-to-head meetings by winning on the road in their opponent’s gym.

To cover all my bases with a disclaimer, obviously one of these teams could lose on Sunday in the semifinals, but this certainly feels like one of those years where the inevitable is bound to happen.

The day started with top-seeded Quinnipiac (the No. 1 seed by virtue of an unbalanced schedule and owning the tiebreaker) avoiding a scare against No. 8 seed Manhattan by a score of 59-43, starting off slow before pulling away in the second half behind 15 points from Ella Ryan and 14 points from Ella O’Donnell.

“We talked about trying to be who we are, we know where our strengths are,” Bobcat head coach Tricia Fabbri said. “Let’s try and execute that to the fullest.”

The Bobcats trailed in their game early in the second quarter, but used a 9-0 run to take the lead and never looked back, extending the lead to double digits the whole fourth quarter. Fabbri’s group was playing without lead distributor Paige Girardi for the second straight game, and it showed during some early stretches.

“I thought we had a few good looks that didn’t go down,” Fabbri said. “We just emphasized to not let the ball get sticky and to keep it moving.”

Fairfield took care of business too, knocking off No. 7 seed Sacred Heart, 69-53, behind 21 points from Kaety L’Amoreaux and 16 from Meghan Andersen, staying tuned to their identity and making life challenging for the Pioneers.

“We came in with a mindset of whether shots were going in or not, we had to be really disruptive and disciplined,” Stags head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said.

Like the Bobcats, the Stags played a close first quarter as well, gradually expanding their lead over the Pioneers the rest of the way. Fairfield forced 19 turnovers and scored 21 points off of those miscues, while also swatting eight shots, four of those blocks coming from Andersen.

“I think we’ve evolved and become a much more disruptive defensive team,” Thibault-DuDonis said. “We try to pick our spots each game where we can be disruptive and use our athleticism and mobility.”

The stage is set for Sunday, where Quinnipiac will face either Iona or Siena and Fairfield will face either Merrimack or Mount St. Mary’s. If they can both move to 20-0 against MAAC schools that aren’t each other, Monday night would be the rubber match of all rubber matches.

“We had an opportunity to cut down the nets to celebrate the regular season co-share,” Fabbri said. “They said that’s not the net they wanted to cut.”