Quinnipiac Veterans Will Lead Men, Women Programs
MAAC Sports
Veterans Return To Bolster Quinnipiac’s Transition
The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team makes the move to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this year, and head coach Tom Moore understands the impact on the Bobcats. “It’s a league known for a real high level of mid-major basketball,” Moore said. “They’re (our players) excited about the challenge. It’s another opportunity for us to show the growth of our program.”
Moore welcomes back a veteran team that includes its top four returning scorers, led by 6-7, 231-pound senior forward Ike Azotam, who was a Preseason All-MAAC third team selection by the league’s coaches. Azotam averaged 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season, and enters the 2013-14 campaign with 1,085 career points. He is joined in the frontcourt by 6-9 junior Ousame Drame, who averaged 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Both Azotam and Dram have averaged better than seven rebounds per game in their careers at Quinnipiac. Under Moore’s tenure, the Bobcats have been known as fierce rebounding teams and last year outrebounded their opponents by over 10 boards per game. Zaid Hearst, a 6-4 junior guard, averaged 10.8 points and shot .351 from beyond the three-point arc. He is joined in the backcourt by 6-3 junior Evan Conti, who averaged 8.5 points and sank .380 of his 3-point efforts. Another dangerous scorer has been added to the Quinnipiac roster, Umar Shannon, a transfer who played three seasons at St. Francis University and is eligible immediately as a graduate student. Shannon averaged over 15 points per game as a sophomore, and scored 11.2 per game last season. Another backcourt veteran, Shaq Shanon, averaged 6.7 points per game a year ago.
The Bobcats open their season on Nov. 9, facing Hartford in the Connecticut 6, before heading to Philadelphia to play 2013 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 opponent La Salle on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. as part of ESPN’s 24 hour College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon. That game will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Bobcats make their MAAC debut on Dec. 6, hosting in-state rival Fairfield in a game to be broadcast on ESPN3 as part of the MAAC TV package. The Bobcats will also visit Iona on Jan. 24 (ESPNU or ESPN3), will play at Fairfield on Feb.13 (ESPN3) and will host Siena on Feb. 27 (ESPN3), all part of the MAAC package.
Quinnipiac Look to Build off of Historic 2012-13 Season
The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team will look to feed off of their historic 2012-13 season as they enter the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Bobcats comes to the MAAC off of the best season in program history. They finished last season with a school and Northeast Conference record of 30-3, claimed an NEC regular season and tournament title, and earned their first NCAA berth in school history. 2012-13 NEC Coach of the Year Tricia Fabbri enters her 19th season at the helm of the Bobcats and is Quinnipiac’s all-time leader in victories with 273. The Quinnipiac women's basketball team was selected third in the MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, behind Marist and Iona. They were also ranked 25th in the Lindy’s Magazine National Preseason poll, and ranked seventh in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Fabbri returns four starters from last season’s historic team who are headlined by All-MAAC Preseason Second Team members senior forward Brittany McQuain and junior guard Jasmine Martin. The 5-11 Independence, Mo. native McQuain was chosen as the 2013 NEC Tournament MVP and selected to the All-NEC Second Team. McQuain led the Quinnipiac Bobcats with 8.3 rebounds per game and finished 3rd on the team with 11.2 points per game last season. Sicklerville, N.J. native Martin was selected to the 2013 NEC All-Tournament Team and was a member of the All-NEC Third Team in 2012-13. The 5-8 guard ranked 2nd for the Bobcats with 12.9 points per game and 3rd with 1.5 steals per contest and she returns to 2013 NCAA qualifier Quinnipiac as the top three-point shooter making 51 three-pointers last year. McQuain will be joined in the frontcourt by senior forward Camryn Warner. The 6-2 forward averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in the 2012-13 season. Martin is joined in the backcourt with 5-10 guard Gillian Abshire. The junior from Washington, D.C. averaged 5.3 points and 4.9 assists per game last season. The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team will look to knock off eight time defending MAAC champions Marist and earn back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats Quinnipiac will host North Carolina A&T in the opening round of the 2013 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Friday, Nov. 8 with tip-off at 5 p.m. at the TD Bank Sports Center. The 16 team WNIT field consists of Georgia State, Gonzaga, Idaho, IPFW, Louisville, Loyola Chicago, LSU, Mount St. Mary's, North Carolina A&T, Oklahoma, Quinnipiac, Saint Joseph's, Stephen F. Austin, Stetson, Tennessee-Martin, and Wichita State, with 10 of the teams coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bobcats will appear in three games on the ESPN networks as part of the MAAC’s television package, including both games against eight time defending MAAC champions Marist College and against MAAC runner-up Iona College. They first welcome Marist to TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn. on Dec. 6 for their first league game on ESPN3 and then they visit Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Feb. 14 for an ESPNU broadcast game against the Red Foxes as part of a double header. They will then host Iona on Feb. 27 for a double header with the men’s team on ESPN3.