NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - With a 68-51 win over Central Connecticut State University, the Quinnipiac University women’s basketball team won the first Northeast Conference regular season championship in school history. Quinnipiac also adds to their school-record win total with their 24^th victory of the season. Their 16 conference wins are also the most by a Quinnipiac team since joining the NEC for the 1998-99 season.

The Bobcats share the title with Robert Morris, following the Colonials’ 66-52 victory at Sacred Heart. The Bobcats take the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament by virtue of the Bobcats’ Jan. 5 victory against Robert Morris, the only meeting of the season between the teams.

The Bobcats now head into the NEC Tournament with the top seed. The No. 1 Bobcats will face the No. 8 Mount St. Mary’s on Saturday, March 8 at Long Island University’s Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Quinnipiac defeated Mount St. Mary’s twice in the regular season, but has never faced the Mountaineers in the NEC Tournament.

Erin Kerner (Erie, Pa.) led the Bobcats with 20 points while Mandy Pennewell (West Chester, Pa.) added 16. Nicole Duperron (Fort St. John, British Columbia) added seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Kerrianne Dugan (12), Jhanay Harris (11) and P.J. Wade (10) all finished in double-figures for the Blue Devils.

The Bobcats fended off a furious second-half CCSU comeback to preserve the victory. After the Bobcats scored the first three points of the period to take a 41-29 lead, the Blue Devils went on a 16-2 run to take a 45-43 advantage on Kanita Boone’s three at the 11:32 mark. After Pennewell sunk a three to give a one-point lead back to Quinnipiac, Alexzandria Dowdy’s steal and fast-break layup gave the lead back to Central.

But Quinnipiac retook the lead for good as Brianna Rooney’s (Guilford, Conn.) driving layup on the next possession sparked an 11-0 Bobcat run. The lead swelled to its final 17-point margin in the final margin.   

Quinnipiac has qualified for the NEC Tournament in nine of the last 10 years with the lone exception being the 1999-2000 season. The Bobcats have been ranked as high as #2 three times in those nine years while also advancing to the NEC Finals in the 2005-2006 conference tournament. The Bobcats are currently 5-8 all-time in the NEC Tournament and had one three consecutive quarterfinal match-ups before last year’s first round loss to Monmouth. Of the Bobcats’ 13 postseason games over the past 10 years, two have been decided in overtime with the win going to Quinnipiac both times.