Providence College Athletics
Providence College
4-12 (0-6)
Xavier
13-3 (4-1)
Women's Basketball Clipped by Xavier, 62-54
1/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Xavier (13-3, 4-1 BIG EAST) jumped out to an eight point lead (14-6) six minutes into the opening quarter, aided by back-to-back three-pointers. The stanza ended with the Musketeers holding an 18-11 advantage, as the Friar defense allowed just two more field goals the rest of the period.
The Friars opened the second quarter with a fast-break lay-in by Sarah Beal (Matthews, N.C.) after she forced a turnover (9:46). Both teams did not score again until 6:27 when Xavier converted a free throw for a 19-13 score. Providence closed the half out with a 7-4 scoring edge, and held the Musketeers to just five points in the quarter. Providnce headed to the locker room trailing, 23-20.
Freshman Maddie Jolin (Rehoboth, Mass.) led the Friars in scoring at the break with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor. The second half opened with freshman Clara Che (Valencia, Spain) hitting a three to tie the game, 23-23. A free throw by sophomore Allegra Botteghi (Bologna, Italy) gave the Friars their first lead of the game (24-23, 8:56). The quarter remained back-and-forth as there were five ties and five lead changes. The Friars took a 37-35 lead when Jovana 'Yoyo' Nogic (Lisbon, Portugal) fed a half court pass to Evi Iiskola on the break (Espoo, Finland), who converted the lay-in. The Friars shot 58-percent in the third quarter on 7-of-12 shooting and were 2-for-3 from 3-point range. The Providence defense held Xavier to just 5-of-14 shooting from the floor (35%).
Providence held the lead in the fourth quarter until 4:51 when Leah Schaefer hit a layup to tie the score, 49-49. The Musketeers then went up 51-49 when Aliyah stole the ball and passed it ahead to Raeshaun Gaffney who scored a breakaway layup. Xavier then built its lead to six (60-54), which included four free throws by Gaffney. A steal and a lay-in by Jenna Crittendon sealed the victory for Xavier (62-54).
Nogic led Providence in scoring with 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-5 3-Pt). Jolin was the Friars' second leading scoring with nine points (4-for-9 FG). She also finished with six steals for the second-straight game.
Xavier's Briana Glover had a game-high 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Gaffney also reached double figures (10) for the Musketeers. The Friars hit the road for a BIG EAST match-up against Creighton on Sunday, Jan. 17. The game will be played at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb. and is scheduled to tip at 2:05 p.m. (ET). Providence's game vs. Creighton marks the first of three-straight road games for the Friars, who also will face Marquette (Jan. 22) and DePaul (Jan. 24).
