The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Quinnipiac women enjoying the climb
Cinderella Bobcats soaking in accomplishments, atmosphere
HAMDEN >> As badly as the Quinnipiac women’s basketball wants to beat top-seeded South Carolina and keep this magical NCAA tournament ride going, the Bobcats have made a point of living in the moment.
Which is why the team enthusiastically gathered outside the TD Bank Sports Center on Wednesday to watch coach Tricia Fabbri climb aboard the aerial platform of a Hamden Fire Department ladder truck and address a crowd of 100 or so well-wishers, bone-chilling cold and fierce winds be damned.
Temperatures were in the 20s atop the York Hill campus, with the wind chill making it feel like single digits. By the time Quinnipiac takes the court for their Sweet 16 matchup Saturday in Stockton, California, Fabbri may well be feeling the effects of the stunt — it’s still the cold and flu season, after all.
But benchmark occasions for a mid-major basketball program don’t happen every day. Between the practices and game preparations, Fabbri and the Bobcats will soak every second of the experi-
ence.
“When it’s all said and done, we can reflect back on what’s happened,” Fabbri said. “We want to keep going. And right now we’re enjoying and having a great time with this. I mean, really having fun. I walked outside the office earlier today and said, “This is fun.” Playing this late in the season, playing South Carolina in the Sweet 16 is fun. We’re enjoying being home and enjoying this day.”
The fire truck’s presence at Quinnipiac sprung from Fabbri’s comments to her team just after the NCAA tournament brackets were announced. She broke out a step ladder, and told the team the objective was to go to Miami to win two games one step at a time.
Hamden’s Fire Department took it from there, drove a ladder truck to the circular driveway just outside the arena doors to symbolize all the additional steps yet to be taken. Fabbri, standing in the bucket at ladder’s end, was raised a few more feet above the crowd, which included several coaches and athletes from other teams, and thanked them for their support.
“We didn’t know the fire truck would be here until we were walking up,” said senior Morgan Manz. “It’s pretty awesome that the community came together like that.”
Few would have Manz to carry Quinnipiac into the Sweet 16. The senior forward scored a gamehigh 22 points, including 6-of-8 three-point baskets, in Monday’s win over Miami. She hadn’t scored more than nine points in a game in over four months.
Like any other young girl learning the game of basketball, and most everyone else on the current Bobcats roster, Manz grew up idolizing the UConn women’s team. As her career progressed — she won a CIAC state championship at Pomperaug before finishing at Watertown’s Taft School — and it became apparent college basketball was in her future, her outlook changed. To succeed at the Division I level, the competition must be regarded as equal and heroworship has to end.
That attitude is a main reason why Quinnipiac, a 12-seed, dumped Big East champ Marquette in the first round. It’s why it stunned No. 4 seed Miami on its home floor.
“We know no matter the name of the other team, we can accomplish what we came to accomplish,” Manz said. “We had a goal of winning two games. That’s what we did.”
South Carolina, a heavyweight in the women’s game, presents next-level challenges. The Gamecocks are in the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight season. Two years ago, they reached the Final Four. Two weeks ago, coach Dawn Staley was put in charge of the U.S. National Team.
Competitively speaking, Quinnipiac catches South Carolina at the right time. Four-time all-SEC center Alaina Coates suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Allisha Gray, the team’s third-leading scorer, was carried off the court during a second-round win over Arizona State. Gray was cleared to play against Quinnipiac, but may not be 100 percent by tip-off.
No matter who’s in or out of the lineup, Quinnipiac believes it can play with any team in the country.
“I do firmly believe we’re not going to be in awe of South Carolina,” Fabbri said. “They won’t think of it as some David vs. Goliath situation. It’s a great program that has been there, done that and we need to be ready to go. But this team has led me to believe we’re going to be ready to go and compete and defend and play for 40 minutes.”