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Women's Basketball's Road To The WNIT: Bobcats Face Temple In First Round On Thursday Night
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Quinnipiac University Bobcats (22-9) at
Temple University Owls (21-9)
Thursday, March 15 - 7 p.m.
McGonigle Hall - Philadelphia, Pa.
WNIT First Round – Bobcats Travel To Temple
The Quinnipiac University women’s basketball team
(22-9, 13-5 NEC) makes its second appearance in the Women’s
National Invitation Tournament when it travels to play a
first-round game at Temple University (21-9, 13-1 A-10) on
Thursday, March 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at McGonigle
Hall in Philadelphia, Pa.
Multimedia
Live stats, video, and audio will be available by clicking
on the appropriate links on the Quinnipiac women’s basketball
schedule at the Official Website of Quinnipiac Athletics, www.QuinnipiacBobcats.com. Fans can listen to the game live
on AM-1220 WQUN with Bill Schweizer and Bill Mecca.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased with cash-only for $8 and $6 for
students or per person in groups of 10 or more. Fans have the
option of paying by credit card next door to McGonigle Hall at the
Liacouras Center Box Office.
Scouting Temple
Prior to this season’s WNIT berth, the Owls had
competed in the NCAA Tournament for eight consecutive years. Temple
enters Thursday’s WNIT first-round game at 21-9 on the year,
its ninth straight year with at least 20 wins. The Owls advanced to
the Atlantic 10 semifinals, where they fell to Dayton, who went on
to win the A-10 Tournament. Prior to the loss, Temple had won
14 contests in a row. The Owls are currently led by A-10 Player and
Defensive Player of the Year, senior Shey Peddy. Peddy paces the
team with 17.2 points per game, which also led the A-10 conference.
Fellow classmate Kristen McCarthy was selected to the A-10 second
team as she’s averaged 12.9 ppg and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Peddy and McCarthy have both surpassed the 1,000-point mark in
their four seasons at Temple. Together, the Owls average 65.4
points and 37.6 boards per game, with a + 9.5 scoring margin.
All-Time Against The Owls
Thursday’s match-up marks the first meeting in
school history between Quinnipiac and Temple.
A Look At The WNIT Schedule
The winner between Quinnipiac and Temple will face the
victor of Harvard versus Hofstra sometime on March 17-19 in round
two of the WNIT. A third round will take place on March 21-23,
before the Quarterfinals and Semifinals occur between March 24-29.
The championship game will be held on March 31 at 3 p.m. and will
be broadcasted by CBS Sports Network.
WNIT History
Quinnipiac is in search of its first national postseason
win as it plays its second Women’s National Invitation
Tournament. The Bobcats attended its first tournament back in 2008
with a first-round contest against Metro Atlantic Athletic
Conference opponent Iona. Quinnipiac dropped the postseason game,
71-59, on March 19.
Last Time Out
In its most recent outing, Quinnipiac lost to Monmouth in
the Northeast Conference semifinals, 69-66, on March 6, 2012 at the
TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats were led by sophomore Brittany
McQuain’s team-high 20 points and freshman Samantha
Guastella’s game-high eight rebounds. Despite the loss,
Quinnipiac posted a 43.4 field-goal percentage, and out-rebounded
the Hawks 34-to-27. Although, Monmouth led by as many as 16 points
in the first half, Quinnipiac battled back and held a four-point
advantage midway through the second stanza. The Bobcats were down
by two points with a minute remaining, but were unable to finish
the comeback. Monmouth went on to lose the NEC Tournament
Championship to top-seeded Sacred Heart, 58-48, who recently drew
Georgia Tech as the #13 seed in the Des Moines Regional in
the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Career-Highs In The Postseason
QU’s Brittany McQuain recorded a career-high 20
points in the Bobcats’ NEC semifinal appearance against
Monmouth, while Samantha Guastella matched a career-high eight
boards.
NEC Tournament History
Quinnipiac has collected a 7-13 record in Northeast
Conference Tournament action, reaching the championship game once
during the 2006 season. QU has also appeared in six semifinal
contests, including this year’s second-round match-up against
Monmouth, its first since 2008. This season’s quarterfinal
win against Mount St. Mary’s marks the Bobcats’ first
NEC Tournament victory since 2008, as well.
2012 NEC Women’s
Basketball Awards
Felicia Barron, the Bobcats’ top scorer and national
leader in steals throughout the regular season, was named NEC
Defensive Player of the Year. She was also selected to the All-NEC
first team, while freshman Jasmine Martin, the team’s
second-leading scorer, received All-Rookie honors. Prior to
postseason play, Barron posted 17.1 points per game, while Martin
averaged 10.9 ppg.
On The Road Again
The Bobcats play their first road game of the postseason,
after hosting five consecutive games in Hamden, Conn. at the TD
Bank Sports Center. QU finished the regular season with three NEC
contests, prior to hosting two NEC Tournament games. The Bobcats
went 2-3 in those last five outings, but post a 12-2 mark on the
road. Quinnipiac has continued to play better on the road, shooting
41-percent in away games and 36.8 percent at home.
This Year Against A-10
Opponents
Although QU has yet to play Temple, the Bobcats have
posted a 2-1 record against Atlantic 10 opponents during the
2011-12 season. Earlier in the year, Quinnipiac picked up
non-conference wins against Massachusetts, 66-63, and Rhode Island,
72-67, in overtime. The Bobcats lost to Saint Joseph’s,
71-54, later in the season.
1,000-Point Scorer
Red-shirt junior Felicia Barron became the 18th player in
the Quinnipiac women’s basketball program to reach the
1,000-point mark as she scored 15 points in QU’s NEC
quarterfinal game against the Mount. Barron has now totaled 1,011
career-points and a career-high 518 points this year. The 5-7 guard
has continued to lead QU in points per game (16.7) throughout the
2011-12 season.
Brittany On The Boards
Forward Brittany McQuain has paced the Bobcats in rebounds
in 25 of its 30 games this season. She continues to lead QU in
rebounds with 9.6 boards per game for a combined 298 in her
sophomore campaign, which rank third in Quinnipiac’s D-I
history and seventh all-time for rebounds in a single season at QU.
After matching a career-high 17 boards against Mount St.
Mary’s and pulling down seven against Monmouth in the NEC
Tournament, McQuain increased her career-total in rebounds to 514,
which rank fifth in Quinnipiac’s D-I history for career
rebounds.
Stealing Streaks
Felicia Barron has continued to pace the nation in steals
per game throughout the 2011-12 season. Barron had at least one
steal in all 31 games this year, while leading the Bobcats in
steals in 23 of its contests. The 2012 NEC Defensive Player of the
Year currently ranks second in the national standings in steals per
game (4.2).
RPI Rankings
Quinnipiac enters the 2012 WNIT with an 84th
ranking in the NCAA Women’s Basketball RPI. The Bobcats are
second in the standings amongst NEC opponents, behind NEC Champion
Sacred Heart. Last week, QU was in the 75th
position.
Fierce Freshmen
Quinnipiac freshmen have had a tremendous rookie season.
All five freshmen Bobcats who’ve seen action this year have
played in at least 29 games. Two rookies rank in the top-five on
the team in scoring offensive, including Jasmine Martin with 331
points on the year and 11.2 ppg. Samantha Guastella has registered
199 points and averages 6.4 ppg.
Sensational Scoring
The Bobcats currently rank second in the NEC in scoring
with 68.2 points per game, while their scoring margin of +5.5 also
ranks second. Felicia Barron currently ranks fifth in the league
and in the top-75 of the national rankings with 16.7 points per
contest. Jasmine Martin (11.2 ppg) and Brittany McQuain (10.7 ppg),
the Bobcats’ second and third leading scorers, also rank in
the top-20 of the NEC in scoring.
Bobcats On The Boards
Quinnipiac remains the NEC’s leading team in
rebounding with 42.4 boards per outing. The Bobcats have collected
at least 50 rebounds in four outings this season. Brittany McQuain
leads the Bobcats’ rebounding efforts with 9.6 rpg, which
also ranks third amongst NEC opponents and in the top-40 of the
national standings.
NEC Notes
Besides leading the league in rebounds, the Bobcats also
rank first amongst NEC opponents in steals per game (10.8) and with
a turnover margin of +3.29. Besides its offensive efforts, QU ranks
second in assist/turnover ratio (0.86) and in assists per game
(14.65).
Contact: Lindsay Oliveri, lmoliveri@quinnipiac.edu
