KINGSTON, R.I.– The Providence College women's basketball team defeated Bryant, 72-64, in the consolation game of the 3
rdAnnual Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 2 in Kingston, R.I. Senior guard
Jovana Nogic (Belgrade, Serbia) eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second-straight game, scoring a game-high 22 points. The Friars have won four of their last five games and improved to 4-3, while Bryant dropped to 2-6.
Providence out-scored Bryant, 19-10, in the opening 10 minutes of play.
Mary Baskerville (Enfield, Conn.) began the second quarter with a lay-up to give the Friars a 21-10 lead just 13-seconds into the action. The Friars held on to a double-digit lead (31-21) with 3:56 to play in the half, but the Bulldogs out-scored Providence 10-2 down the stretch to get within 33-31 at halftime.
Nogic paced the Friars with 10 points in the opening 20 minutes. Providence shot .538 from the field, hitting 14-26 shot attempts, including 2-5 from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs went to the free throw line 17 times in the first half, but converted just nine points, while the Friars were 3-5 from the line.
The second half proved to be a battle as Bryant fought to tie the score on two occasions, but the Friars never relinquished the lead. The game was knotted at 62-62 with 1:27 remaining in the game, but scored the Friars' final nine points of the day on a three-point bucket and a 6-6 performance from the free-throw line in the final 1:14.
Joining Nogic in double figures was sophomore
Andrea Cooper (Edmond, Okla.), who scored 14 points and added four rebounds. Baskerville finished the day with 10 points and six boards. Sophomore
Olivia Orlando (Winthrop, Mass.) hauled in a team-best eight rebounds.
Maddie Jolin (Rehoboth, Mass.) completed the game with nine points, four rebounds and a game-high four assists.
The Friars shot a season-best 49.1-percent from the floor (26-53), and hit 4-9 attempts from three-point range (.444). Providence also hit 16-23 attempts from the free-throw line (.696), including 13-18 in the second half (.889).
Providence returns to action on Dec. 8 at UMass Lowell. The game will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. in Lowell, Mass.
- GO FRIARS -