Quinnipiac's Jackie Grisdale looks to pass against Fairfield earlier this year. The two teams meet again Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. in Hamden. (Photo courtesy of Quinnipiac athletics)Carl AdamecSun, March 1, 2026 at 3:48 AM UTC·5 min readThey've been the top two women's basketball teams in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since the beginning of the league season.
With victories Saturday, Quinnipiac and Fairfield share the regular-season title at the end.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Bobcats earned their piece of the crown, the sixth title in their MAAC history, and the No. 1 seed for the MAAC Tournament by defeating Canisius 75-37 at M&T Bank Arena in Hamden as graduate student guard Jackie Grisdale scored 19 points.
"I couldn't have asked for anything better than this," Grisdale said to ESPN+. "This has been the best five years I could ask for and I'm so grateful for every person that made it this way. This has been such a ride and I'm so happy.
"We knew this was a big one and we got it today. So we're on to whoever we see on Friday. It's one game at a time and I'm just so excited we get to keep playing with each other."
Five hours later, the Stags pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat crosstown rival Sacred Heart 67-50 at Mahoney Arena for a third straight championship. Jillian Huerter had 16 points while Kaety L'Amoreaux scored all 15 of her points in the second half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"It was a big game so you could definitely feel the tension," Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis told ESPN+. "We have an unbelievable senior class that has done so much here. They have built what this program is."
Quinnipiac (24-5, 19-1 MAAC) and Fairfield (25-4, 19-1) split their regular-season meetings, with the Bobcats winning at Fairfield 72-58 on Jan. 29 and the Stags evening the score with a 75-63 victory in Hamden on Feb. 14. Quinnipiac gets the tie-breaker for the tournament's No. 1 seed by virtue of a better record against third-place Merrimack (Quinnipiac 2-0 vs. Fairfield 1-0).
The MAAC Tournament will be held March 5-9 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
The Bobcats will open postseason play Friday at noon against the winner of Thursday's first-round 8-9 game between Manhattan and Marist. The Stags' bid for a third straight tournament title begins with a quarterfinal game Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of Thursday's first-round 7-10 game between Sacred Heart and Saint Peter's.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementQuarterfinal games Saturday will be No. 4 Iona versus fifth-seeded Siena at noon and No. 3 Merrimack against sixth-seeded Mount St. Mary's at 2:30 p.m.
The semifinals are set for March 8 at noon and 2:30 p.m. with the championship game March 9 at 6 p.m. The tourney winner receives the MAAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats played without guard Paige Girardi, who was injured early in Thursday's win over Niagara. But Grisdale set the tone with a trio of 3-pointers as Quinnipiac closed the first quarter with a 17-2 run for a 24-9 lead. Canisius (5-24, 3-17) got no closer.
"We've had a lot of emotions these past 48 hours," Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said "So to have the performance we had today while dealing with some adversity just shows you the champions these ladies are. They were just great today. They responded, they've responded all year. To finish with a share of the MAAC regular-season title is what this team has earned and I'm thrilled for them."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGrisdale finished 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Her fourth trey gave her a school record of 226 3-pointers, breaking the mark of Sam Guastella. She also added eight rebounds.
"Jackie Grisdale has set the standard and the bar for how we go about every day a moment at a time," Fabbri said. "She led the way in that first quarter with a barrage of threes and put everybody to rest."
Sydney Ryan added 11 points for Quinnipiac, eight coming in the decisive first quarter.
Sacred Heart (12-17, 10-10) made things interesting most of the way, leading 25-24 at halftime and 36-33 midway through the third quarter. But L'Amoreaux scored the game's next seven points and the Stags took a 44-40 lead to the fourth quarter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFairfield then held the Pioneers without a field goal for 7:40 and the 18-2 run put it away. Huerter had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the key stretch.
"They have high standards for themselves," Thibault-DuDonis said. "It's one thing to have that external pressure but they have internal pressure because they know they want more. We want to be a team that's in a position to win the MAAC every year but they want to take another step year after year. We have high achievers in the locker room so there's not a lot of motivation needed on my end."
Meghan Andersen (15) and Cyanne Coe (14) joined Huerter and L'Amoreaux in double figures.
"It feels really good knowing we're going off (to Atlantic City) with a good win and honoring our seniors," Coe said.
Sophie Nascimento had 16 points for Sacred Heart.
This article originally published at Quinnipiac, Fairfield share MAAC women's basketball regular-season championship.
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