Quinnipiac gets assist from Waterford freshman

By John Manley

Kim Fitzpatrick played only 12 minutes in Quinnipiac’s 80-67 women’s basketball victory over St. Francis (N.Y.) and she scored no points. In fact, she didn’t even take a shot. But she did two other things in that short period of time that are worthy of note. The Waterford freshman dished out 6 assists, a game high, and also gave up 3 fouls. It should be noted that three of Quinnipiac’s starters combined to shoot 17-for-18 from the floor, so they were hardly in need of Fitzpatrick to provide an offensive spark. But she accepted her role and excelled in it. Quinnipiac is 9-11 overall and 6-6 in Northeast Conference play. Fairleigh Dickinson is on deck for a Saturday afternoon contest in Teaneck, N.J.

Waterford also produced another player for a school in the Nutmeg State in Kate Maher. She scored 7 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to help Sacred Heart down Central Connecticut State, 55-44. Maher shot 3-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 from the line. She also blocked one shot. Sacred Heart (11-8, 7-3 in the NEC) plays Mount St. Mary’s at home on Saturday afternoon.

Manhattan sandwiched two victories around a loss last week. The Lady Jaspers defeated Loyola (Md.), 53-50, as Siobhan Kilkenny added 5 points to the mix, as well as 5 assists and 5 steals. She shot only 1-for-7 from the floor, but converted 3 of 4 free throws. A 62-59 loss to St. Peter’s found the Castlebar, Co. Mayo, junior tallying 12 points. She made 5 of 10 from the floor, including her lone three-point attempt, and clicked on 1 of 2 foul shots. Seven rebounds fell her way, and she was credited with 3 assists and 2 steals. Manhattan ended the week with a 56-48 win over Rider. Kilkenny scored seven points (2-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the line), while banging the boards for 12 caroms and dishing out 8 assists. The Jaspers (13-9, 8-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) square off against Siena on the road Saturday afternoon, then face Iona at home on Tuesday evening.

Scoring 17 points in a game is usually cause for satisfaction, if not outright jubilation. But Susan Moran adheres to a higher standard, so that output in St. Joseph’s (Pa.) 59-54 win over Fordham is substandard for the

Tullamore, Co. Offaly, senior. Moran dropped in only 3 of 9 from the field.

The bulk of her production (11 points) came from the foul line, where she missed only one attempt. She also had eight rebounds and two steals as the

Hawks improved to 16-4 overall and 7-2 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. St. Joe’s hits the road for games against Xavier (Ohio) on Friday and Dayton on Sunday.

Michelle Fahy had a double-double, although Iona lost to Rider, 53-46. The

Galway sophomore scored 10 points, having shot 5 of 10 from the floor. She led all rebounders with 12 and blocked two shots. Furthermore, she helped limit Rider’s starting frontcourt to 10 points. Iona (5-14, 3-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) gets another crack at Rider on Thursday evening in New Rochelle, N.Y., then hosts Canisius on Saturday afternoon.

The Mullally sisters of Athlone, Co. Westmeath both scored for Dowling in a 74-51 victory over Molloy. Laura Mullally, a freshman, had 8 points on 3 of 7 shooting in 15 minutes of action. She was 2-for-4 from outside the 3-point arc. She also grabbed two boards. Sister Orla, a graduate student, played eight minutes and posted two points, converting her lone field goal attempt. Dowling (12-7, 12-3 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference) contends with Queens on Thursday in a road game, before returning home to take on Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Men’s basketball

Azusa Pacific improved to 19-4 with wins over Hope International, 104-46, and Christian Heritage, 80-76. Senior center Gary Dredge, from Clondalkin, Co. Dublin, was good for 6 points in the Hope blowout, shooting 2-for-2 from both the field and the charity stripe. He also had 5 rebounds. His only points in the latter game came on two free throws, as he attempted only one shot from the floor, which missed. He had six caroms in this game. Next up for the Cougars is Fresno Pacific on the road Saturday evening, followed by Biola at home on Tuesday.

Emmet Donnelly tossed in 5 points as King’s defeated Scranton, 79-68. Donnelly, a senior from Dublin, came by the points by hitting 2 of 3 from the field and 1 of 3 from the foul line. He also accounted for 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 14 minutes of playing time. King’s (16-4, 6-4 MAC Freedom Conference) has home games looming against Lycoming on Saturday afternoon and Wilkes on Tuesday evening.

Peder Madsen paced Teikyo Post’s scoring attack in an 82-68 loss to Caldwell. Madsen, a Dublin senior, had 14 points, nine of which were launched from downtown. Ronan O’Leary, a junior from Derry, added 8 points to Post’s cause. Post (9-11) hosts Felician on Thursday evening, then visits Nyack on Saturday afternoon and Green Mountain on Tuesday evening.

Swimming

Andrew Bree picked up a victory in the men’s 200-yard intermediate medley to help Tennessee defeat Florida, 129-100, in a dual meet. Bree, a sophomore from Helens Bay, Co. Down, swam his race in 1:49.01, more than two seconds better than the runner-up. His splits were 23.47, 51.96, 1:22.72 and 1:49.01. Fourth-ranked Tennessee’s next assignment is the Southeastern Conference Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., which run Feb. 20-23.