Bobcats looking for more March Madness magic

HAMDEN — Paula Strautmane is about as upbeat of a player who has ever suited up for the Quinnipiac women’s basketball team, but the senior forward had even more of a reason to be in a jovial state of mind when the NCAA Division I bracket was announced on Monday.

It wasn’t that the 11thseeded Bobcats would be squaring off with Summit League champion South Dakota State in Saturday’s first-round game that had Strautmane grinning from ear to ear as much as the site of the subregional.

The Bobcats, who will make their third straight NCAA tournament appearance, will play at Syracuse University’s Carrier Dome which just happens to be home for her younger sister Digna, a sophomore forward for subregional host Syracuse.

“I am happy to go and see her,” Strautmane said. “Even though the schools are quite close compared to the size of America, we never see each other that much because of our schedules . ... Seeing her and experiencing the NCAA tournament event is going to be really fun.

“I have followed every game. I know how the dome looks so it is going to be fun. I have never played there obviously so it is going to be cool. If we win and they win, we might play against each other so that would be an interesting experience too, but at this point we are just focusing on South Dakota State.”

Quinnipiac can make some history with a win on Saturday. Since the NCAA women’s field expanded to 64 teams in 1994, the Bobcats are one of eight programs to win their tournament opener as a lower seed in back-to-back seasons. If Quinnipiac advances to the second round on Monday, it would be the first time one team has accomplished that feat in three consecutive seasons.

“Our ladies have set an entire new expectation for us when we come to March,” Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said. “We play to win, we aren’t happy to just be here. I think that has been outstanding for this senior class that they have set that expectation, regardless of seed we are going there to compete, take care of the process and come out ultimately with the result of the win at the end.”

Quinnipiac and South Dakota State will be the first game on Saturday, set to tip a little after 11 a.m. followed by the Syracuse/Fordham game. The winners would meet on Monday with a spot in the Portland regional semifinal on the line. It goes without saying that if Quinnipiac and Syracuse advance, the sister vs. sister story angle will get plenty of play even if Strautmane was uncertain whether her parents could make another trip from their native Latvia for the tourrnament after making their way to the U.S. recently to see both Quinnipiac and Syracuse games.

“It is really an opportunity to keep it in the family,” Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said. “It is a great story for the tournament, it is a great story for the sisters, but we know we have to take care of business in the first game. It is nice to have each other live sitting there and being able to sit there and watch some of each other’s games.”