Women's Basketball Kicks Off NEC Rivalry Week With Game Against Sacred Heart On Saturday At 1 P.M.

Quinnipiac University Bobcats (11-12, 8-4 NEC) vs.
Sacred Heart University Pioneers (14-9, 8-4 NEC)
Saturday, February 12, 2011 - 1:00 p.m.
TD Bank Sports Center - Hamden, Conn.

NEC Rivalry Week Kicks Off
The Quinnipiac University women's basketball team opens NEC Rivalry Week on Saturday, when it hosts Sacred Heart at 1 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats are coming off a 56-52 win against St. Francis N.Y. Monday night, while the Pioneers lost at Long Island, 77-59, Monday. Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart are tied in third place in the Northeast Conference at 8-4.

"Think Pink" Day
The Bobcats will be supporting the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Pink Zone" cause at Saturday's game. The WBCA Pink Zone® initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

Multimedia
Live stats, audio and video of Saturday's game will be available by clicking on the appropriate links on the women's basketball schedule at www.quinnipiacbobcats.com. Fans can listen to the game live with Bob Mortali and Bob Tipson on AM-1220 WQUN. Live video is available for a fee of $9.99, while live stats are free of charge.

Scouting Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart fell to Long Island, 77-59, in its most recent outing, Monday Feb. 7. The Pioneers were led by Morgan Merriman, who finished 7-of-9 field goals, scoring 14 points in the loss. Sacred Hearts' Callan Taylor picked up 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Ericka Norman and Kiley Evans collected 12 and 10 points, respectively. Taylor leads the Pioneers with 15.0 points per game, ranking her third in the NEC. The junior forward also averages a team-high 8.3 rebounds, ranking her fourth in the conference. In addition, she leads the NEC with an 88.7 free-throw percentage. Sacred Heart currently averages 33.8 rebounds and 60.2 points per game, earning a +1.8 scoring margin and a -2.8 rebounding margin. The Pioneers are shooting 40.1 percent from the floor, 35 percent from three-point range, and 70.1 percent from the line.

All-Time Against The Pioneers
Saturday's game marks the 56^th meeting between Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart. The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 32-23, after beating the Bobcats twice last season in back-to-back contests.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac outlasted St. Francis N.Y., 56-52, in its most recent outing on Feb. 7. Freshman Brittany McQuain posted a game and career-high 17 points in the win, while Courtney Kaminski recorded her third double-double this season. The team also put up a season-high nine blocks in the contest.

99 Problems, But Assists Ain't One
Felicia Barron has compiled 99 assists this season, ranking her the ninth player in the Bobcats' Division I history, to collect at least 100 assists in a single season. In addition, Barron is ranked fourth in the NEC in assists per game (4.3).

Double Trouble
The Bobcats' Courtney Kaminski and Brittany McQuain have each picked up three double-doubles this season. Kaminski scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in Quinnipiac's most recent outing at St. Francis N.Y.

Leading Ladies
Quinnipiac is currently lead by Courtney Kaminski, who is averaging 6.1 rebounds and a team-high 12.8 points per game, and Brittany McQuain, the Bobcats' active-leading rebounder, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game. Leading the team in assists (4.3) and steals (1.9) per game is Felicia Barron. In addition, Barron has compiled a team-high 41 three-pointers this year, while Jacinda Dunbar leads the Bobcats with a 45.5 field-goal percentage.

From Negative To Positive
Since posting a -25.0 scoring margin for the month of November, Quinnipiac has since narrowed the gap to -4.1 points. The Bobcats have also been able to change a -11.2 rebounding margin, to -0.7.

NEC Notes
Quinnipiac continues to lead the NEC as one of its top-scoring teams, with 64.8 points per game. The Bobcats are also ranked fourth in the conference in assists, averaging 14.09 per game, and third in offensive rebounds, averaging 14.48 per game. In addition, Kaminski is ranked eighth amongst NEC players in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game, while Brittany McQuain is ranked 16^th in rebounding, averaging 6.3 per game. Felicia Barron continues to lead the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Charity Stripe Stats
In each of the Bobcats' 11 wins this season, the team has outscored their opponent from the free-throw line. The Bobcats recorded a season-high 28 free-throws at Monmouth on Jan. 7.

1,000-Points And Beyond
Courtney Kaminski currently has compiled 1,239 career-points, placing her as the 11^th all-time career-scorer at Quinnipiac. Kaminski became the 17th Quinnipiac women's basketball player to score 1,000 points, as she scored 10 points in Quinnipiac's home-opener against Holy Cross this season.

What's Ahead In The NEC
The Bobcats will play Sacred Heart in their final contest of NEC Rivalry Week on Monday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. The game will be televised on MSG.