QU Rugby Advances To NIRA Championship With 41-26 Win Against Central Washington

Friday, November 17

Hamden, Conn.

10:00 AM

Quinnipiac University

Central Washington

QU Rugby Advances To NIRA Championship With 41-26 Win Against Central Washington

11/17/2017 12:47:00 PM | Women's Rugby

By: QU Athletic Communications

HAMDEN, Connecticut – The Quinnipiac women's rugby team defeated Central Washington, 41-26, to advance to its third straight National Intercollegiate Rugby Association National Championship game. After trailing 12-7 at the half, the Bobcats went on a 24-0 run to capture the victory. Ilona Maher (Burlington, Vermont) tallied three tries while Mikah Maples (Mowequa, Illinois) added two of her own.

SCORE
Quinnipiac 41 / Central Washington 26

LOCATION
Quinnipiac Rugby Field / Hamden, CT

RECORDS
Quinnipiac (9-2, 8-2 NIRA) / Central Washington (5-4, 2-2 NIRA)

SCORING SUMMARY

4:30 1^st Half (CWU 5-0)
19:00 1^st Half (CWU 12-0)
25:00 1^st Half (CWU 12-7) Ilona Maher found herself alone with a Central Washington defender and was able to pry the ball loose, kicking it off the ground and grabbing the bounce to find an open lane to the try zone.
45:00 2^nd Half (QU 14-12) The Bobcats took the lead early on in the second thanks to a Mikah Maples try straight up the middle.
55:00 2^nd Half (CWU 19-14)
63:00 2^nd Half (CWU 26-14)
65:00 2^nd Half (CWU 26-10) Rebecca Haight (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) began the comeback with a try after fighting her way to the right side.
67:00 2^nd Half (Tied 26-26) Mikah Maples found the try zone for her second of the day with a run 65-yard run up the middle.
71:00 2^nd Half (QU 31-26) Ilona Maher put on the afterburners to reach the try zone for her second of the day.
86:00 2^nd Half (QU 34-26) Margaret Wesolowski (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) added three more points after a penalty kick.
87:00 2^nd Half (QU 41-26) The scoring came to an end with Illona Maher's third try of the day.

NOTES

Ilona Maher tallied three tries on the day. The senior finished the regular season as the leader in tries (18).
Sophomore Mikah Maples and senior Rebecca Haight combined for three tries.
Senior Flora Poole (Christchurch, New Zealand) added two assists. She finished the season as the leader in assists (20).
Freshman Destiny Henry (Athens, Tennessee) added an assist.
Senior Margaret Wesolowski was 50% (3-for-6) on conversion attempts. She also added an assist.
The team added 24 unanswered points after being down 12-7 at the half, shutting out Central Washington for the last 22 minutes of the match.
The Bobcats improve to 7-0 at home this season.
With the victory, the Bobcats will advance to their third consecutive NIRA Championship game looking to capture its third in a row.

QUINNIPIAC GAME LEADERS
Tries: Ilona Maher (3)
Assists: Flora Poole (2)

UPCOMING MATCH
The Bobcats will face a quick turnaround when they play again on Sunday at 12:00 PM in the national championship game. The team will face the winner of the #1 Dartmouth and #5 Harvard matchup, which is scheduled for today at 1:00 PM.