The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Quinnipiac upsets Marquette, earns first NCAA tourney win
CORAL GABLES, FLA. » When Marquette’s Natisha Hiedeman was asked earlier in the week about playing Quinnipiac in a first-round NCAA tournament game, her answer raised some eyebrows.
“I’ve never heard of it,” she said about Quinnipiac.
Suffice to say, that has now changed.
Buoyed in part by Hiedeman’s quote, along with the chance to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in program history, Quinnipiac came out on fire, then hung on down the stretch for a 68-65 victory at the Watsco Center.
“They know who we are,” senior guard Adily Martucci said of the Golden Eagles. “I think everyone knows who we are now.”
It’s the third NCAA tournament game victory for any Quinnipiac team since going Division 1 in 1998 and the first by a women’s team. The men’s hockey and lacrosse teams had previously accomplished the feat. It’s also the first time Quinnipiac has beaten a team ranked in the Top 25. Marquette, the No. 5 seed in the Stockton Region, was ranked 25th in the nation.
The 12th-seeded Bobcats (28-6) will face No. 4 seed Miami on Monday, again at the Watsco Center, which is on Miami’s campus. The Hurricanes survived an upset bid of their own on Saturday, edging No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast 62-60.
“When we won the MAAC championship close to two weeks ago, I told my young ladies to enjoy the moment, because you never know,” said 22nd-year coach Tricia Fabbri. “We worked very hard to win that title. But I also said, don’t be satisfied. We weren’t finished yet. And then today we came down here to win a game and advance into Monday. It’s a goal that we started last year when we left for summer and we continued just to move forward with our mission. And here we are getting ready to play in the field of 32 come Monday night.”
Quinnipiac played perhaps its best first half of the season, shooting 59 percent, and had opened a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter. Marquette gradually clawed back and had pulled to within two inside the final two minutes, though it would never lead or even tie the Bobcats. Ironically, the Golden Eagles’ two best chances to do so came on shots by Hiedeman.
With 20 seconds left and Marquette (25-8) down two, the sophomore guard unleashed a jumper from just inside the 3-point line. But it was blocked by Martucci.
“When it came down to it, I just knew that I had to be in her stuff,” Martucci said. “And my hands had to be up, because we knew she was going to shoot. Basically, I was just shading her left hand with my right hand and hoping that that was a block, and it ended up being one.”
Paula Strautmane knocked down a pair of free throws with 17.6 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Marquette got an inside hoop from Erika Davenport, and Strautmane was fouled again with 3.2 seconds left. She made the first but missed the second, and Marquette coach Carolyn Kieger called a timeout to set up the last shot.
Amani Wilborn inbounded from the right sideline, in front of the Marquette bench, to Hiedeman, who pump-faked, took a dribble and launched a 3-pointer that looked on the mark. However, the ball rattled in and out of the basket, and the Bobcats had their historic victory.
“I thought we deserved to win, so I was just crossing my fingers that it wasn’t going to go in,” said Jen Fay, who led the Bobcats with 20 points and four steals.
“It was a great shot,” added Martucci. “We’re glad it didn’t go in.”
The Bobcats couldn’t have played much better in the first half. They hit four of their first five shots, six of their first nine (including a pair of treys) and wound up shooting a blistering 67 percent (12-for-18) for the opening quarter. They didn’t cool down much in the second period, either, opening up as much as a 16-point lead and owning a 43-30 advantage at the break.
The lead was 19 after a Fay jumper midway through the third, but the Golden Eagles closed out the period on a 12-2 run. Things got significantly more interesting in the fourth.
“They’re a great team, and we knew that was going to be a tough battle,” said Martucci. “And teams usually come back. We just knew that we had to stay strong. We had to stay gritty, mentally tough. And that’s actually our identity. That’s how we identify ourselves is very gritty, just the perseverance with this team is amazing. It makes me so proud. They’re a great team and we knew it was going to be a tough battle.”
A battle ultimately won by Quinnipiac, whose name is now quite familiar to Marquette’s players.
“It’s just unreal,” said Martucci. “In the locker room, I started to cry. Just the emotions that went through my body, it was insane. Honestly, it’s an honor to be a part of this. My freshman year I never would have thought that I’d be a part of something this huge. This is huge for us, huge for our program. Now, we get a little bit of recognition. People are starting to notice. It’s just such a blessing to be part of this whole experience.”