No. 12 Quinnipiac Falls to No. 1 South Carolina in NCAA Women's Basketball Sweet 16
MAAC Sports
STOCKTON, CA – No. 12 Quinnipiac University (29-7, 17-3 MAAC) were defeated by No. 1 University of South Carolina (30-4, 14-2 SEC), 100-58, in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Sweet 16.
The Bobcats are the second team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s (MAAC) history to play in a NCAA Sweet 16 game, joining Marist College (2007). The Red Foxes were the No. 13 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and faced No. 1 University of Tennessee in the Sweet 16. The Red Foxes were defeated by the Lady Volunteers, 65-46. Quinnipiac’s matchup with South Carolina marked 10 years to the exact date that Marist took on Tennessee on March 25, 2007.
As a No. 12 Seed, the Bobcats were lowest remaining seed in the Sweet 16. Quinnipiac was just the fourth No. 12 seed in NCAA Women’s Basketball Division I history to advance to the Sweet 16, joining BYU (2014), Kansas (2013), and San Francisco (1996). The Bobcats were also the fourth team in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to knock off both a No. 4 and 5 seed en route to a Sweet 16 berth.
Red-shirt senior guard Adily Martucci scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 shooting from behind the arc. Red-shirt sophomore forward Jen Fay tallied 12 points to tie Martucci for the team-high. Fay shot 4-of-9 from the field and grabbed a team-best four rebounds in 27 minutes of play.
Sophomore guard/forward Aryn McClure added nine points, six assists, and three rebounds in 34 minutes of action. McClure’s six assists marked a season-high and were just two short of her career-high of eight, which she registered on January 17, 2016 against Canisius College.
MAAC All-Time Wins in NCAA Tournament:
2017 First Round – No. 12 Quinnipiac – 68 | No. 5 Marquette – 65
2017 Second Round – No. 12 Quinnipiac – 85 | No. 4 Miami – 78
2012 First Round – No. 13 Marist – 76 | No. 4 Georgia – 60
2011 First Round – No. 10 Marist – 74 | No. 7 Iowa State – 64
2008 First Round – No. 7 Marist – 76 | No. 10 DePaul – 57
2007 First Round – No. 13 Marist – 67 | No. 4 Ohio State – 63
2007 Second Round – No. 13 Marist – 73 | No. 5 Middle Tennessee State – 59
1989 First Round – No. 9 La Salle – 72 | No. 8 Connecticut – 63
The Bobcats played in their fifth NCAA Tournament game (2-3) in the program’s Division I history, which dates to 1998-99. Quinnipiac has made it to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last five years and it is the second time that they are representing the MAAC. This also marked the sixth consecutive national postseason appearance for the Bobcats.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Schedule:
First Round: March 17-18
Second Round: March 19-20
Sweet 16: March 24-25
Elite Eight: March 26-27
Final Four: March 31
Championship Final: April 2
Quinnipiac Notes:
· Quinnipiac converted 15 three-pointers in its Second Round win over No. 4 Miami, finishing just one shy of matching a single-game program record. Quinnipiac’s 15 threes were the third-most in the NCAA Second Round history.
· Quinnipiac is now (2-10) all-time against nationally ranked opponents, defeated No. 16 Miami and No. 25 Marquette en route to the Sweet 16.
· Quinnipiac is (1-3) all-time against SEC opponents. Today’s meeting with South Carolina was the first between the two programs.
· Quinnipiac season-long 12 game winning streak was snapped in the loss.
· Quinnipiac is one of 13 programs across the nation to have won at least three-straight conference regular season titles. The Bobcats have recorded a mark of 54-6 (.900) in conference games in that three-year span (since 2014-15).
Quinnipiac 2016-17 All-MAAC Honors:
· MAAC Regular Season Champion
· Adily Martucci: (MAAC Championship MVP, All-MAAC Second Team)
· Jen Fay: (All-Championship Team, All-MAAC Third Team)
· Aryn McClure: (All-Championship Team, All-MAAC Third Team)
· Carly Fabbri: (All-Championship Team)