Quinnipiac Clinches Fifth Straight MAAC Women’s Basketball Regular Season Title

2/21/2019 9:20:47 PM

EDISON, NJ – Quinnipiac University (20-6, 15-0 MAAC) topped Rider University (15-11, 11-4 MAAC), 66-60, on Thursday night to clinch the MAAC Women’s Basketball Regular Season Title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAAC Championship.

This marks the fifth-straight regular season title for the Bobcats and head coach Tricia Fabbri. Over the five-year span, the Bobcats are 87-6 (93.5%) in MAAC regular season play.

Rider, who saw seven different players score in the first quarter, jumped out to a commanding 27-11 lead to open the game. Quinnipiac managed to trim the deficit to six by the half and to four by the end of the third quarter. The Bobcats were able to take the lead for the first time on a pair of free throws by senior forward Paula Strautmane with 8:09 to go in the fourth and never looked back.

Quinnipiac is currently riding a 15-game win streak, tied for second longest in the country with No. 25 Rice and only one game behind No. 1 Baylor. The Bobcats are undefeated in MAAC play thus far (15-0) and are also carrying a historical 46-game MAAC win streak (including postseason). The last MAAC loss the Bobcats suffered was over two years ago on February 2, 2017 against Fairfield University.

When asked about her team’s determination and consistency, Fabbri stressed the importance of veteran leadership. “We’ve built a winning culture here… Each class leaves [the program] a little better than they found it”. The Bobcats are led by a group of seniors that Fabbri says are looking forward to their final time at the MAAC Championship. “I think they’ll be able to let their hair down and have a lot of fun the rest of the way”.

Quinnipiac will play its first game in the MAAC Basketball Championship on Friday, March 8, at 1:00 p.m. against either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed. The Bobcats are two-time defending MAAC Champions, and winners of three of the last four.

The MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will take place March 7-11 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. For more information on the 2019 MAAC Basketball Championships, visit maacsports.com/basketball. Be sure to follow the conversation on all social media platforms by using #MAACHoops19

About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 38^th year of competition during the 2018-19 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.