As the NCAA hockey and basketball seasons come to an end, both sports are entering another offseason defined by the transfer portal. Over 1,300 men’s and women’s basketball players have already entered since the window opened this week and men’s and women’s hockey are again expected to see a record number of entrants.
QUSportsPage will update this page with Quinnipiac’s departures and additions during the transfer portal periods.
Men’s Basketball
Portal opening date: March 24th
Portal closing date: April 22nd
Amarri Monroe | Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
The 2025 MAAC Player of the Year from Newburgh, New York, averaged 18.1 ppg and had 14 double-doubles in his second year in Hamden. The All-MAAC First Team selection this past season has heard from multiple schools in the SEC, Big Ten, Big East and ACC since entering the portal, according to On3sports.
Paul Otieno | Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Otieno spent three seasons with the Bobcats and garnered an All-MAAC First Team nomination in 2024-25. He finished behind Monroe in the MAAC’s double-double leaderboards (13) and was among the nation’s best in offensive rebounding. After spending his first collegiate seasons at Kilgore College (TX), the Kenyan native joined the 1,000 point club this past year, and was granted another graduate season after the NCAA’s junior college eligibility waiver ruling.
Doug Young | Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Young played two seasons at the JUCO level, one at Odessa College (TX) and one at Midland College (TX), but has spent the past two seasons with the Bobcats. He averaged 5.4 ppg off the bench this past season and scored a season-high 18 points against Sacred Heart. Young was granted another year of eligibility under the same precedent as Otieno.
Ryan Mabrey | Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Coming over as a transfer last spring after spending his first two seasons at Miami (OH), Mabrey averaged 4.3 ppg in 32 games (12 starts) with Quinnipiac in what’s looking like his lone season in Hamden. He scored in double figures five times including a 17- point outburst in November against St. John’s where he buried a season high five triples.
Khaden Bennett | Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: 2
In his second year in Hamden, Bennett had anything but a sophomore slump. He averaged 10.3 ppg on the season, including three 20-plus point games. He spent most the beginning half of the year as the primary ball handler with veteran guard Savion Lewis out with an injury. Many times guarding the opposing team’s second or third scoring option, Bennett compiled 43 steals during the season.
Women’s Basketball
Portal opening date: March 24th
Portal closing date: April 22nd
Gal Raviv | Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: 3
Raviv was the first player in MAAC history to win both Rookie and Player of the Year awards. The Kadima, Israel native finished the season averaging 17.9 points per game, the most for a Quinnipiac women’s basketball player since the 2013-14 season.
Men’s Ice Hockey
Portal opening date: March 30th
Portal closing date: May 13th
Noah Altman | Goaltender
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Atlman’s four years in Hamden made him the longest-tenured player in the program this season. He appeared in parts of seven games across four seasons, but his lively personality made him a favorite in both the locker room and among fans over the years. His impact on the program warranted his selection as an alternate captain for the 2024-25 season.
Nate Benoit | Defenseman
Years of eligibility remaining: 2
With his portal entry, Benoit is destined for his third team in as many seasons. He spent his freshman year with North Dakota before transferring into Quinnipiac for his sophomore season. In 2024-25 with the Bobcats, he appeared in 21 games and recorded two assists. Benoit’s last appearance for Quinnipiac was in its ECAC Tournament semifinal loss to Cornell, where he slotted in as the seventh defenseman but did not see any ice time. He was a healthy scratch in the team’s NCAA Tournament loss to UConn.
Michael Salandra | Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: 3
Salandra did not play in his first year in Hamden. During the 2023-24 season, he played in the BCHL, a part of the West Kelowna Warriors organization. During his second year with the Warriors, he was named an alternate captain and recorded 21 goals and 23 assists.
Noah Eyre | Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: 3
During his first year in Hamden, Eyre only appeared in five games and last played on Jan. 31 against Dartmouth. He came to Quinnipiac from the Sioux Falls Stampede along with two other Quinnipiac freshmen, Tyler Borgula and Chris Pelosi.
Chase Ramsay | Defenseman
Years of eligibility remaining: 2
Similar to Eyre, Ramsay only played a handful of games in his second season in Hamden. During the season, there were two months between each of his three appearances. Playing seven games total in two years, Ramsay did not record a single point while wearing the blue and gold.
Women’s Ice Hockey
Portal opening date: March 16th
Portal closing date: April 29th
Outgoing Players
Tiana McIntyre | Defender
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
McIntyre, a native of Park City, Utah, dressed for 36 of the team’s 38 games in 2024-25. She did not register a point, but recorded 21 shots on goal, had an even plus-minus rating, and tied for seventh on the team with 16 blocked shots. As a sophomore in 2023-24, McIntyre had two assists and a +6 rating.
Incoming Players
Calli Hogarth | Goaltender | Merrimack
Years of eligibility remaining: 1
Hogarth played three seasons in North Andover, serving as Merrimack’s primary starter or a platoon goaltender in each of them. In 2024-25, she started 23 games for the Warriors, finishing with a 2.79 goals against average and .904 save percentage. At 6 feet tall, Hogarth reflects the growing trend of bigger goaltenders in women’s college hockey. She is expected to compete with rising sophomore Felicia Frank for playing time.
Alex Law | Forward | Boston University
Years of eligibility remaining: 2
Law was a highly-touted recruit coming into college, playing for Canada’s national team at two IIHF Under-18 World Championships. She played two seasons for the Terriers, putting up 13 points as a freshman and nine this past year as a sophomore. She recorded an assist in BU’s NCAA tournament loss to Clarkson. Law also was a member of BU’s lacrosse team and is expected to play both sports at Quinnipiac.
Every year before the MAAC women’s basketball season starts, the 13 coaches in the conference vote on how they think the teams will finish.
Sometimes the coaches predict the conference dead on, other times they predict dead wrong. Most times, they meet somewhere in the middle.
The MAAC Tournament tips off at noon on Tuesday with No. 8 Manhattan and No. 9 Canisius playing each other. In anticipation of that, QU Sports Page’s Zach Carter and Ben Yeargin take a look back at what the MAAC coaches predicted the conference standings would be — and how right or wrong they were.
The order below follows the order in which the coaches voted each team to finish in the preseason poll, followed by each team’s actual finish heading into the conference tournament.
1. Fairfield Stags (25-4, 13-1 MAAC)
Actual finish: 1
The coaches hit a home run here. Despite the reigning MAAC Player of the Year (and also preseason player of the year) graduate guard Janelle Brown tearing her ACL, Fairfield thrived in conference play.
The Stags finished 19-1 while leading the MAAC in scoring offense and scoring defense. They also received votes in the AP Poll for the second-consecutive year.
Fairfield is the deepest team in the conference. Its offense is led by sophomore roadrunner (a term the Stags use in place of forward) Meghan Andersen, who is averaging 15 points per game, but the Stags also have two other eligible players who average at least eight or more points a game in sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux and senior roadrunner Emina Selimovic.
Anyone on Fairfield can take and make a three and its best players can score at all three levels, making the Stags difficult to defend.
In the MAAC Tournament, Fairfield is the No. 1 seed and favorite to win it all, but with its No. 51 NET ranking, the Stags have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid.
But whether in preseason or post, Fairfield cemented itself as the conference’s best team.
– Yeargin
2. Siena Saints (17-12, 14-6 MAAC)
Actual finish: 3
The coaches poll set expectations high for the Saints, who met the bar by rattling off their second-consecutive third-place finish in the conference. Success all year has been predicated on the team’s backcourt, fronted by junior Teresa Seppala and graduate Ahniysha Jackson. Both guards rank in the top two on the team of minutes per game and points per game by a wide margin.
The poll named Seppala a projected First Team All-MAAC recipient and Jackson a second team finish. The crystal ball was spot on, with both being announced March 10 to the first and second teams, respectively. Seppala made it unanimously.
Last year, Niagara bounced Siena from Atlantic City in a 17-point win. The Purple Eagles outscored the Saints 34-11 in the first quarter, and the Saints were never able to climb back from the deficit.
But the Saints are surging as of late, winning their final four games of the year. In their most recent game against conference bottom feeder Rider, the Saints drubbed the Broncs by 37 points. Head coach Terry Primm and his squad have all their ducks in a row heading into the conference tournament, looking to wash away the pain of last year’s semi-final loss.
– Carter
T-3. Niagara (3-25, 2-18 MAAC)
Actual finish: 13
Reality and prediction sometimes don’t mix.
What the coaches thought they were voting on in the preseason was a Purple Eagles team that just pushed Fairfield to overtime in the MAAC Tournament and retained two of their three leading scorers. They were predicting a squad that would bounce right back up and wreak havoc on the conference.
Instead, what it received was a mostly inexperienced roster that had the sixth-worst scoring defense in the country. The Purple Eagles didn’t win a MAAC game until Feb. 27 against Iona.
What doesn’t help is Niagara’s two best players missed chunks of the season. Senior forward Aaliyah Parker redshirted this season and junior forward Amelia Strong played 16 of the Purple Eagles 28 games.
You can’t predict injuries, but the coaches could’ve seen an inexperienced roster that lacked Division I-depth. In other words, the MAAC coaches were dead wrong on this one.
– Yeargin
T-3. Quinnipiac (26-3, 18-2 MAAC)
Actual finish: 2
Both Quinnipiac and the coaches poll anticipated success for the Bobcats in 2024-25. Where the predictions went askew was more nuanced — just how much success the Bobcats would have eluded the MAAC’s coaches. Few expected a freshman from Israel to take the league by storm and grow the Bobcats into one of the most formidable mid-major teams in the nation.
Gal Raviv did just that.
A starter in every game for Quinnipiac this year, Raviv displayed excellence in all facets. She averaged 18.0 points and 5.7 assists and made the All-MAAC First Team despite not being named to any of the three teams in the preseason. Not to mention, she won rookie and conference player of the year.
Quinnipiac’s supporting cast in Jackie Grisdale, Karson Martin, Anna Foley and others make this team especially dangerous. The Bobcats have built up a conference-best defense, limiting teams to just 54.4 points per game, and handed Fairfield its first conference loss in two years March 8.
The Bobcats outperformed the preseason poll’s expectations and solidified themselves as one of the conference’s premier teams. They should make some noise in March, going as far as their first-year phenom will take them.
– Carter
Photo: Quinnipiac Chronicle
5. Sacred Heart (9-20, 5-15 MAAC)
Actual finish: 12
Junior guard Ny’Ceara Pryor was arguably the best player in the conference this season. She led the MAAC in scoring per game and steals per game (she leads Division I in the latter category). In all other worlds, she would be accepting her third-straight conference player of the year award for her work this season.
But Sacred Heart finished No. 12 in the MAAC with a 5-15 conference record and missed the MAAC Tournament altogether.
How? Terrible shooting and a lack of offensive production behind her. The reigning NEC champions shot 37.9% on the season and league-worst 24.4% from three. In 16 of the Pioneers’ 20 conference games, their opponents shot better than them.
Pryor was incredible this year. She also finished seventh in rebounds per game as a 5-foot-3-inch guard, but no one else stepped up. Sacred Heart showed flashes of its brilliance, but never pieced together any notable wins.
The Pioneers will have seven long months to improve before it goes again for year two in the MAAC. The coaches laid a massive goose egg on this one.
– Yeargin
6. Manhattan (15-24, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 8
A two-spot differential for Manhattan is not enough to keep them out of the tournament — they’ll take on Canisius Tuesday at noon — but it is enough to change the narrative around this group.
A sixth-place finish would have put Manhattan in the upper half of the conference’s 13 teams. At No. 8, they officially take on an underdog persona. Ignoring the Jaspers’ record quickly, this team has performed very well under the hood, better than most give them credit for. The Jaspers held the third-best point margin in the conference, one of four teams to boast a positive differential between its offensive and defensive output.
Team defense is a big factor in that, holding opponents to a conference-best 36.8% percentage from the floor, while shooting 42.5% from the floor themselves, third-best in the MAAC. The Jaspers also lead the conference at 4.48 blocks per game. They grab the most rebounds per game (37.1) of any team in the conference and average the second-most assists of any team (15.9).
With an abundance of promising statistics in mind, let’s bring their record back into play. The portrayal now shifts. At No. 8 in the MAAC heading into the tournament, this is no longer an upper-half team like the coaches anticipated. This is a group that underperformed in the regular season, but one that has all the tools it needs in its toolbox to pull off a surprising run.
– Carter
7. Mount St. Mary’s (14-15, 12-8 MAAC)
Actual finish: 4
In front of Mount St. Mary’s in the preseason poll is Manhattan, but the Jaspers were in front of the Mountaineers by over 26 points. That’s a clear indicator that the Mount didn’t belong in the conference’s upper echelon.
Come March, Mount finished four spots ahead of Manhattan in the MAAC.
Fueled by career years from senior guard Jo Raflo, graduate guard Anna LeMaster and freshman guard Gabrielle Kennerly, the Mount was the best three-point shooting team in the conference. It shot 35% from deep.
Additionally, the Mountaineers had a seven-game win streak in conference that featured a dominant performance over Siena and an overtime win at Quinnipiac. However , they’ve also had losing streaks in conference too. The Mount previously lost four of five conference games before beating Marist on the final day of the season.
The reason for its losses coincides with its field-goal percentage. When the Mount shot under 40% in conference play, it went 2-7.
For that, the coaches deserve some grace, but not a complete absolution of responsibility. They were wrong, and underestimated a team that can be dominant.
– Yeargin
8. Iona (10-20, 8-12 MAAC)
Actual finish: 10
The Gaels were predicted to be a lower-half playoff team, and while that expectation did realize, it only did so by a minuscule margin. Iona grabbed the very last spot in the MAAC tournament in underwhelming fashion, losing six straight games to end the regular season.
The Gaels did not have a single player average over 10 points on the year, with the two closest players, Ella Fajardo and Judith Gomez, averaging 9.6 and 9.5 respectively. Unlike most MAAC teams, the Gaels’ roster is void of the X-factor that one usually relies on when this time of the year rolls around. Like Raviv for Quinnipiac. Janneh for St. Peter’s. Seppala and Jackson for Siena. Iona lacks that special talent, and it could hurt them come Tuesday.
A conference will almost always have its outliers, the teams who lose just a handful of games and the teams that barely win just a handful of games, but the middle is where the majority of programs fall. Iona was one of those teams. Its stock is low — the lowest its been all season — and if the Gaels are able to beat No. 7 Saint Peter’s in the opening round, they’ll have to take on No. 2 Quinnipiac the very next day.
But then again, March means madness.
– Carter
9. Rider (7-22, 5-15 MAAC)
Actual finish: 11
The coaches weren’t too far off with this prediction, but there’s still a large difference between a playoff team and one that’s not.
Rider’s case was one of single digits.
The Broncs finished three games outside of a postseason bid. In MAAC play, they lost four games by single digits. If they won those four games instead, Rider is a MAAC Tournament team. But reality is they didn’t.
There were some positives for Rider, though.
Senior guard Gabby Turco had an excellent year, averaging 13.9 points per game with 3.5 rebounds per contest too. Also, freshman forward Winner Bartholomew likely earned herself a spot on the All-MAAC Rookie Team with her 8.3 points per game and 3.8 boards per game.
The middle of the MAAC was hard to predict for anyone; the coaches weren’t that far off. But still, they were somewhat wrong.
– Yeargin
10. Saint Peter’s (11-18, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 7
The coaches swung and missed on Saint Peter’s, figuring they might sneak into the tournament as the final team. Or they might not. Then again, the poll is never exactlyright. But No. 7 is much different from No. 10. If Saint Peter’s beats Iona in the opening round, it won’t have to play Fairfield the day after, though Quinnipiac does not present much of an easier matchup.
The Peacocks rely predominantly on one woman — Fatmata Janneh. At 18.3 points per game, she more than doubled the scoring of the team’s second-highest scorer Layla Laws at 9.0 ppg. Her selection to the All-MAAC First Team is more than deserved, given where Saint Peter’s might rank in the conference had Janneh not been around all year to produce at the level she has.
Again, the middle of any conference is difficult to perceive. The coaches shouldn’t be on the hook for an egregious miss, but the fact of the matter is they overlooked a Saint Peter’s team that has outperformed expectations this year.
– Carter
11. Marist (16-14, 11-9 MAAC)
Actual finish: 5
On the surface, Marist looked doomed. The Red Foxes finished last season at the bottom of the MAAC and lost their only MAAC Tournament game 60-47 to Mount St. Mary’s.
Additionally, they lost their two leading scorers in forward Zaria Shazer and guard Kiara Fisher.
But right below the surface was a young core of players that was eager to prove itself, and they did. Marist plays the Mount again in the MAAC Tournament this year, but as the No. 5 seed.
Redshirt junior guard Lexie Tarul and junior center Morgan Lee are the duo that’s powered the Red Foxes offense this season. They’re one and two in points per game on the squad. Additionally, freshman guard Danielle Williamsen notched an All-MAAC Rookie Team-worthy nine points per game this year.
Junior forward Ciara Croker, junior guard Jackie Piddock, sophomore guard Julia Corsentino and senior guard Catie Cunningham all play significant roles on Marist. Croker and Piddock round out the starting five, while Cunningham and Corsentino have the most minutes off the bench.
The coaches got this one very wrong, and doubted a young, deep Red Foxes squad.
– Yeargin
12. Merrimack (13-16, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 6
In support of the MAAC coaches, this one is not on them.
2024-25 was Merrimack’s very first season as a member of the MAAC and it’s impossible to know exactly how much homework each program’s coach had done on the Warriors at the time the poll was conducted. Merrimack was middle of the pack in the slightly-less competitive NEC last year, finishing 8-8 and losing in the second round to eventual MAAC conference-mate Sacred Heart.
Hence, the easy solution is to undervalue them.
The Warriors made some noise this season, led by sophomore guard Thalia Shepard at 13.0 points per game. They’ve rebounded well all year — second in the conference in rebounds per game behind Manhattan, doing so especially well on the offensive glass. Their 11.7 offensive boards per game ranks third in the conference.
The margin between Merrimack’s expected finish and actual finish was quite large, but don’t expect it to be that big again next year. Now that coaches have seen the Warriors at least once, there’s a good chance they will more accurately judge Merrimack’s finish when it comes time to take the 2025-26 poll.
– Carter
13. Canisius (10-20, 9-11 MAAC)
Actual finish: 9
Canisius was a complete unknown entering this season. No one expected anything of it, granted there wasn’t anything to base predictions on.But the Golden Griffins surprised the MAAC.
Head coach Tiffany Swoffard’s squad earned their way into the MAAC Tournament by beating Rider on March 6 and now have a date with Manhattan to tip off the tournament.
Graduate guard Jaela Johnson notched 11.6 points per game while leading the squad in minutes. Sophomore forward Shariah Gailes finished third in the conference with 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Golden Griffins’ biggest question mark heading into the tournament is a lack of MAAC Tournament experience on the roster. But if Canisius taught us anything this year, it’s to expect nothing from them.
Not even the coaches expected anything of the Golden Griffins, which may be what they want you to think heading into the MAAC Tournament too.
Thursday night at Fairfield’s Leo D. Mahoney Arena, Quinnipiac women’s basketball and the Stags — the top-two teams in the MAAC — will square off in their first meeting of the season.
This matchup will bring forth answers about the future of the MAAC come the postseason, But before the game starts, there’s also lots of questions to be answered. How will these two teams match up? Who’s the X-factor? What are the biggest questions each team needs to answer?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each team?
Connor Coar: The Bobcats’ front court will have to play their best basketball of the season to keep this game close. Sophomore forward Anna Foley leads the way with 10.6 points per game, and her frontcourt counterpart, graduate forward Caranda Perea, has the abilities of a stretch four and is not scared to shoot the ball. Junior Ella O’Donnell and senior Grace LaBarge often sub in for Foley and Perea and bring similar attributes off the bench.
A consistent rotation has worked the entire season, but don’t be surprised if there is a 50-50 split between the two groups to keep their legs fresh.
Khalise Harris: Fairfield has been dominant at home, boasting an impressive 8-1 record at Leo D. Mahoney. The Stags thrive on home court, averaging 72 points per game while holding opponents to just 52.5 points. Their strong fandom adds to this edge. Their last home game against Manhattan was a sellout with an attendance of 3,573. Fairfield’s home dominance isn’t new either — last season, it went undefeated at home (13-0), proving just how difficult it is for opponents to win in their arena.
Benjamin Yeargin: The Stags’ biggest advantage is their defense. Fairfield is top-three in the MAAC in every defensive category you can think of: scoring defense, opponent field-goal percentage, opponent three-point percentage and forcing turnovers. In Hamden, the Bobcats’ biggest advantage is their guard play. Senior guard Jackie Grisdale, sophomore guard Karson Martin and freshman guard Gal Raviv all sit within the top-20 of the conference in points per game at 13, 20 and fourth.
The biggest disadvantage for Fairfield is that it doesn’t shoot free-throws well. Fairfield is tied for third-worst in the MAAC in free-throw percentage with a 66.7% integer. Sure, those free-throws don’t necessarily matter when your average margin of victory is 20.9 points, but going into close MAAC Tournament games and against competitive teams like Quinnipiac, they matter.
For the Bobcats, it’s allowing teams to score in the paint. In its only loss of conference play, Quinnipiac was outscored 24-20 in the paint. Fairfield limits teams to access the post and have guards that aren’t afraid to drive into the paint. To win the game, the Bobcats have to outscore Fairfield in the paint.
Fairfield
Quinnipiac
74.8
Points/G
68.7
53.8
Points Allowed/G
58.7
14.3
Turnovers/G
12.6
33.2%
Three-point %
35%
66.7%
Free Throw %
74.5%
Bold indicates top two in MAAC
How would you describe this game in one word?
Coar: Revealing
When it’s the top two teams in the league, both sides are going to find out a lot about themselves. Raviv had the second-worst day of her collegiate career shooting the ball against Mount St. Mary’s on Jan. 18, due in large part to the defensive guard play from the Mountaineers for the 42 minutes that she was on the floor. Fairfield has 10 players with over 15 minutes played per game this season. Bodies are going to get thrown at Raviv when Quinnipiac is on offense. The question lies in how the first-year will respond to the adversity.
Fairfield lost to Indiana by 33 in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Women’s March Madness Tournament in large part to the height differential between the two teams. The Stags will have the height disadvantage against the Bobcats on paper, so they can’t allow the Bobcats to play inside-out and continue their hot shooting from behind the arc (35%; good for second in the MAAC).
Harris: Tense
A lot is on the line for both teams. A Fairfield loss would mark their first conference defeat since the 2022-2023 season while leaving them and Quinnipiac tied at the top of the MACC, matching 9-1 records. For Quinnipiac, this game is more than just a rivalry, but an opportunity to snap their two-game losing streak against Fairfield. Their last win over them dates back to March 4, 2023, in a 52-39 final.
A victory here would boost momentum for both teams and for Quinnipiac, especially. This would set them up for a crucial showdown on Saturday against Siena, the third-ranked team in the MACC. After suffering their first conference loss against Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac is hungry to get back on track, and this game could be the spark they needed to ignite their energy and reclaim their dominant form.
Yeargin: Difficult
This game will be a true test for both teams. Quinnipiac will have to find ways to defend the floor at all three-levels, mitigate Fairfield’s transition offense and limit its own turnovers. Pretty much, don’t allow the Stags to use their strengths. That will be tough to do; no one in the MAAC has successfully stopped them. With the combination of Fairfield’s dynamic road runners like sophomore Meghan Andersen and senior Emina Selimovic, the Stags can easily access and score at all three levels.
But for Fairfield, the Bobcats will be their biggest test in conference play and could doom them to its first MAAC loss in nearly two years. Quinnipiac’s perimeter defense has excelled this year with Grisdale leading the helm, which will be annoying for the Stags five-out offense. Additionally, the Bobcats have turned the rock over the fewest times in the MAAC and have bigs that are larger and can guard Fairfield’s road runners at all three levels. Both teams hope to flex their strengths to a win and register a statement win in the MAAC.
What are the biggest questions each team needs to answer?
Coar: How does Quinnipiac manage late game situations?
The two Bobcats losses this season have both come in overtime. Players and coaches have said they deserved to win their first game against Miami over Thanksgiving break, giving up 16 points in the overtime frame. The ball is going to be in Raviv’s hands no matter how you want to draw it up for Quinnipiac. The decision making from her and the rest of the backcourt will be one of the biggest factors if Quinnipiac ends up with a win Thursday night. Oh yeah, this game is also on the road.
Yeargin: How do the Stags defend Quinnipiac’s Gal Raviv?
Raviv has been remarkable for the Bobcats. She’s won seven MAAC Rookie of the Week awards, is fourth in the conference in points per game, seventh in assists and seventeenth in rebounding. Even in games where the entire team isn’t performing, Raviv manages to step up, making it crucial for Fairfield to stop her. The Stags could match up sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux with Raviv, and clog up the lanes with their road runners so Raviv is unable to get to the basket, where she excels. No matter what the Stags strategy is, just know that in their scout they’ve highlighted Quinnipiac No. 14, and they will have a gameplan to limit Raviv’s scoring.
Harris: How does Fairfield prepare defensively for this matchup?
Despite Fairfield’s offensive edge — averaging 6.1 more points per game than Quinnipiac — the Bobcats hold the upper hand from beyond the arc, shooting 35% from three. Quinnipiac’s size in the front court also presents a challenge for the Stags, presenting a “mismatch” in the paint. Adding to Fairfield’s concerns, the Bobcats are efficient from the free-throw line, converting 74.5%. If the Stags can’t play disciplined defense, they risk sending Quinnipiac to the line, where the Bobcats can capitalize and pad their scoring.
Who is the X-factor of this matchup?
Coar: Quinnipiac sophomore guard Paige Girardi. The second year has seen a significant drop off in minutes in her second season compared to her first year of almost 14 minutes per game. Due in large part to the team being healthy again, Girardi has played her role with little to no errors. Many times spelling Raviv or senior guard Jackie Grisdale, running the second unit with only six turnovers the entire year. The two starters, Raviv and Grisdale, are both in the top ten in the entire country in minutes, but when Girardi gets into the game, limiting turnovers against the fast paced Stags will be key.
Yeargin: Fairfield sophomore guard Kaety L’Amoreaux. Since the reigning MAAC Player of the Year Janelle Brown went down with a season-ending ACL injury, L’Amoreaux has been forced to step up. She has. Since Brown’s injury, L’Amoreaux is averaging 14.9 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game. And she has to continue to do so against Quinnipiac. She’ll face a difficult defensive matchup whether she is guarded by Grisdale, Raviv or Martin and she’ll have to guard one of those three too. For the Stags to succeed, they have to limit the Bobcats guards from scoring and L’Amoreaux should be the center of that gameplan.
Harris: Quinnipiac sophomore guard Karson Martin. With guard Jackie Grisdale’s season-ending injury in 2023, Martin was thrust into a significant role during her first year. She appeared in 24 games last season, starting 21, and she has played and started in all 18 games this season. With defenses primarily focused on other playmakers, including Raviv, Karson takes advantage of the extra space, making her a silent threat on the court. She currently sits third on the team in three-pointers made, with 17 this season, 30 assists and 21 steals so far.
