Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Xavier

FRIARS TRAVEL TO CINCINNATI, OHIO TO FACE XAVIER IN A RESCHEDULED CONTEST... The Friars hit the road to face Xavier on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The game was previously scheduled to be played on Dec. 31, but the Friars were forced to cancel due to COVID issues.

PROVIDENCE VS. XAVIER ALL-TIME... The Friars and Musketeers have met 16 times during the history of the two women's basketball programs. Xavier leads the all-time series, 10-6, including wins in each of the last two games. Prior to the Musketeers back-to-back wins, the Friars had reeled off five-straight victories.

MOST RECENT MEETING... The Friars and Musketeers played just once during the 2020-21 season in a match-up played at the Cintas Center on Dec. 31, 2020. Xavier claimed a 64-50 victory on that day. Three Friars scored in double figures, led by Kyra Spiwak's 19 points. Sarah Leyendecker paced Xavier with 18 points.

FRIARS AND MUSKETEERS AT THE CINTAS CENTER... The Friars and Musketeers have met eight times at the Cintas Center. Xavier leads the series in games played on its home court, 7-1. Providence's lone victory at the Cintas Center came on Feb. 15, 2019 (63-55).

KYLEE SHEPPARD MAKES HER RETURN TO CINCY... Providence College freshman point guard Kylee Sheppard will be playing in front of her hometown crowd on Tuesday night, when she suits up for the Friars at the Cintas Center. The Cincinnati native attended Roger Bacon High School, where she averaged 13.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a senior. In three seasons, she recorded 938 career points and ranks sixth all-time in scoring at Roger Bacon. She was a two time All-District and All-City selection and earned All-State honors as a senior. Sheppard also played her AAU ball with the Cincinnati Angels.

FRIARS COMING OFF 98-77 LOSS TO DE PAUL... The Friars returned from an 18-day layoff due to health & safety protocols to face DePaul on Jan. 7 in Providence, R.I. The Friars who were without top scorer and rebounder Janai Crooms, managed a 26-22 lead after one quarter, but the nation's top scoring team used a 33-16 scoring edge in the second to take a 55-42 lead into halftime. The Friars' offense was impressive in the match-up as they shot 54.2-percent from the floor in the game (32-59), but DePaul's high-volume offense attempted 21 more field goals than Providence and finished 38-80 from the floor (.475).

FRIARS DISH A SEASON-HIGH 22 ASSISTS VS. DE PAUL... The Friars dished a season-best 22 assists on 32 field goals (32-59, 0.542) against DePaul in their most recent game. It marked the first time that Providence eclipsed 20+ assists in a game since dishing 21 against Butler on Dec. 5, 2020.

KYLEE SHEPPARD NOTCHES CAREER-HIGH 22 POINTS VS. BLUE DEMONS... Freshman point guard Kylee Sheppard recorded a career-high 22 points in the loss to DePaul. In just her fourth game of the season, she shot 9-12 from the floor and added two rebounds and a team-best six assists and two steals.

MARY BASKERVILLE DRAINS AN EFFICIENT 15 POINTS VS. DE PAUL... Mary Baskerville came off the bench to play 17 minutes in the Friars' loss to DePaul on Jan. 7. She was a perfect 6-6 from the field, including 1-1 from three point range. Her first career three-pointer came on an inbounds play with two seconds left on the shot clock. Baskerville also contributed five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal, without committing a turnover.

FRIARS GETTING ON THE BOARDS... Providence has recorded 40+ rebounds in eight of its 13 games, including two games with 50+ boards. Last year, Providence only eclipsed 40 rebounds in one game (49 vs. Butler, 3/5/21). As a team, the Friars rank fourth in the BIG EAST, averaging 39.8 rebounds per game. The Friars hauled in a season-best 51 rebounds against Brown.

FRIARS RANK 15th IN THE NATION IN DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING... Providence leads the BIG EAST and ranks 15th in the nation in defensive rebounds, averaging 30.2 per game.

DOUBLE-TROUBLE... Janai Crooms leads the Friars and ranks second in the BIG EAST with six double-doubles. Alyssa Geary and Mary Baskerville also have recorded double-doubles for the Friars this season, with one each. Additionally, Baskerville has 18 double-doubles in her career, which ranks third in the BIG EAST among active players.

BLOCK PARTY... The Friars currently lead the BIG EAST and rank 12th in the nation in blocked shots (82). Providence also ranks first in the league blocks per game and ranks ninth in NCAA Division I (6.3 bpg). Mary Baskerville leads the Friars with an average of 2.5 rejections per game, while Crooms ranks second with 1.3 blocks per contest. Baskerville (15), Crooms (16), Alyssa Geary (13) and Olivia Olsen (13) have combined to record 57 of the Friars' 82 blocks overall.

MAKING IT COUNT AT THE LINE... The Friars are 6-0 this season when making more free throws than their opponent.

MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS AMONG NCAA DIVISION I ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS IN BLOCKED SHOTS PER GAME... Mary Baskerville ranks 21st among NCAA Division I active career leaders in blocks per game (1.74 bpg). In 89 career games, Baskerville has swatted 155 shots, including two seasons of 50+ blocked shots.

FLIRTING WITH THE PROGRAM'S FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE... Janai Crooms has narrowly missed out on a bid for a triple-double in three games this season. On Nov. 20 against Boston College, she finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Against Hartford on Dec. 1, she logged 25 points, 11 boards and eight assists. On Dec. 8 against Brown, Crooms put up 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. In the program's 48-year existence, a Friar has never recorded a triple-double.

JANAI CROOMS IN THE TOP-10... Janai Crooms is currently the only player in the BIG EAST to rank in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots.

ALYSSA GEARY'S DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK COMES TO A HALT... In the season opener vs. Yale on Nov. 9, senior Alyssa Geary went 0-7 from the floor and was held scoreless. Geary responded by scoring in double figures for a career-best 10-straight games. Her double-digit streak was halted on Dec. 19 against Creighton, finishing the night with four points.

OLIVIA OLSEN PROVIDING A SPARK... Freshman Olivia Olsen has provided a spark off the bench this season, and has done so in an efficient manner. She has played all 13 games off the bench and is averaging 6.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 block per game. She is shooting a blistering 65.5-percent from the field (36-55), including a clip of 73.7-percent during BIG EAST play (14-19). She has reached double digits in the scoring column in two of the last four games. Most recently, Olsen came off the bench to score 12 points against Creighton on 6-7 shooting in just 18 minutes of action (Dec. 19).

ON THE MEND... The Friars have been struggling with injuries throughout the season, and have yet to dress a full roster for a game. Mary Baskerville, Kylee Sheppard, Nariah Scott and Grace Efosa all have made their return - and were active in the Friars' most recent game against DePaul on Jan. 7. However, Janai Crooms missed her first game of the year due to health & safety protocols.

MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS 20th ALL-TIME AT PROVIDENCE IN CAREER REBOUNDS... Senior Mary Baskerville ranks 20th all-time in career boards at Providence with 630. She hauled in a team-best nine rebounds in the Friars' season opener against Yale (Nov. 9) and passed former Friar Mi-Khida Hankins '11 (602) in the rankings. She is within striking distance of the next two spots, currently held by Alexis Harris '15 (19th, 635) and Monika Roberts '01 (18th, 636).

1,000-POINT MILESTONE ON THE HORIZON... Mary Baskerville has scored 984 points with the Friars in 89 career games. She is on pace to become the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone, needing just 16 points.

JANAI CROOMS CRACKS THE TOP-15 IN CAREER ASSISTS... Janai Crooms owns 291 career assists and is tied for 15th on the Friars' all-time list with Paulette Hassett '78. Crooms leads the Friars this season with 4.58 assists per game.

MARY BASKERVILLE NAMED TO ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM AT THE CONCLUSION OF 2020-21 SEASON... Last season, Mary Baskerville led Providence College in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg), blocked shots (1.8 bpg), steals (1.4 spg) and field-goal percentage (.538, 112-208). For her efforts, she was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. It marked her first postseason honor since earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST All-Freshman Team accolades in 2019.

CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF... The NCAA cleared Janai Crooms to play during the 2021-22 season on Nov. 4, prior to the Friars' exhibition game against Bentley. Crooms was a four-star recruit and ranked No. 36 in 2018 class by Prospect Nation coming out of St. Andrew's (Barrington, R.I.). She played two seasons at Ohio State (2018-20) before transferring to Michigan State for the 2020-21 campaign. Crooms has two years of eligibility remaining, including the current 2021-22 seasons.

FRIARS SET TO MAKE THEIR RETURN TO THE DUNKIN' DONUTS CENTER... The Friars will host a game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center for the first time since 2010 when they welcome Connecticut on Sunday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is set for 11:00 a.m. It marks the first time Providence has played a game at the Dunkin' Donuts Center since Feb. 6, 2010 against West Virginia.

PROVIDENCE PICKED TO FINISH EIGHTH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL... The Friars were picked to finish eighth in the 2021-22 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released at the league's annual media day at MSG in New York City. The Friars recorded 32 points in the poll and sit above Georgetown (27), Xavier (18) and Butler (17). Connecticut was a unanimous selection to win the league for a second-straight season.

JANAI CROOMS NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL FOR SECOND TIME... Janai Crooms earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades for the second time this season on Dec. 13. The junior guard averaged 19.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in wins over Brown and Quinnipiac. Crooms recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots at Brown on Dec. 8. She closed the week with 24 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one blocked shot against Quinnipiac (Dec. 11). For the week, she shot an impressive 59.2-percent from the floor (16-27). Her 24 points against the Bobcats marked the second 20+ point game this season and was one-point shy of her season high.

ALYSSA GEARY NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Alyssa Geary earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll accolades on Dec. 6, following her performance against Villanova and Georgetown in conference play. She averaged 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Geary also collected her first double-double of the season - and second of her career- against Villanova on Dec. 3 with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She combined to shoot 43-percent from the field (9-21) and 85-percent from the foul line (11-13).

JANAI CROOMS NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Janai Crooms was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Nov. 15. In two games last week to start the 2021-22 season, she averaged 18.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game. In the Friars' game against Maine (Nov. 13), Crooms exploded for 18 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and two steals.

FRIARS IN THE POSTSEASON... The Friars' last appeared in the postseason during the 2018-19 campaign, when their current senior class came on to the scene as freshmen. Providence's 2019 WNIT selection marked the program's 15th post-season appearance overall and first since 2010. In 2019-20, NCAA and WNIT Championships were canceled to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Friars did not qualify for postseason during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. Complete post-season breakdown follows (records in parentheses):

2018-19 WNIT Round of 16 (2-1)
2009-10 WNIT Quarterfinal Round (3-1)
1991-92 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1990-91 NCAA Tournament Second Round (1-1)
1989-90 NCAA Tournament East Regional (1-1)
1988-89 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1986-87 National Women's Invitational Tournament (1-2)
1985-86 NCAA Tournament First Round (0-1)
1981-82 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1980-81 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1979-80 EAIAW National Tournament (3-1)
1978-79 EAIAW Regional Tournament (0-1)
1977-78 EAIAW Regional Tournament (1-1)
1976-77 EAIAW Regional Tournament (2-2)
1975-76 EAIAW Regional Tournament (1-2)

WHAT'S NEXT... The Friars return to the court for a pair of home games against St. John's (Jan. 14) and Seton Hall (Jan. 16). Both games will be played at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. and will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FloSports.

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Players Mentioned

Mary Baskerville

Janai Crooms

Alyssa Geary

Olivia Olsen

Nariah Scott

Kylee Sheppard

Kyra Spiwak

Providence College Athletics