Providence College Athletics
Providence College
Creighton
Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Creighton
1/27/2022 11:42:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Friars and Bluejays will tip-off at 5 p.m. (ET) on Friday in Omaha, Neb.
FRIARS SET TO FINISH OFF THREE-GAME ROAD STRETCH AT CREIGHTON... The Friars will conclude a stretch of three-straight road games on Jan. 28 against Creighton. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. (ET) at DJ Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb.
FRIARS AND BLUEJAYS ALL-TIME... Providence and Creighton have met 18 times during the history of the two women's basketball programs. The Bluejays lead the all-time series, 15-3.Â
LAST TIME PROVIDENCE DEFEATED CREIGHTON... The Friars last defeated Creighton on Feb. 10, 2021 by a score of 60-48, snapping a three-game winless streak to the 'Jays.
FRIARS AND BLUEJAYS IN OMAHA... Providence and Creighton have played eight games at DJ Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb. The Bluejays lead the series on their home court, 6-2. However, the Friars have claimed wins in two of the last three meetings at the facility.
FRIARS AND BLUEJAYS IN OVERTIME... Providence and Creighton have played one overtime game during the all-time series. The Bluejays claimed an 87-84 victory in double-overtime in Providence, R.I. on Feb. 10, 2018.
FIRST MEETING ALL-TIME... The first meeting between Providence and Creighton was part of the National Invitation Tournament on March 21, 1987 in Amarillo, Texas. The Bluejays earned a 91-89 win. The two teams did not meet again until Creighton was added as a BIG EAST member during the 2013-14 season.
FRIARS CLAIM OVERTIME VICTORY AT GEORGETOWN... Providence evened the season series with Georgetown, claiming a 66-58 overtime win at McDonough Arena on Jan. 23. It marked the Friars first victory at McDonough since 1996, snapping a streak of 16-straight losses on the Hoyas home court. Kylee Sheppard, Alyssa Geary and Janai Crooms combined to score 48 of the Friars' 66 points. Sheppard paced the effort with 21 points, including seven in the overtime session. She helped seal the win with a 5-6 performance from the charity stripe in the final 40-seconds. Geary netted 15 points and Crooms added 12. Mary Baskerville grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and matched her career highs in steals (six) and blocked shots (six).
KYLEE SHEPPARD NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Freshman point guard Kylee Sheppard was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 24. It marked the first conference honor of her career. In a 1-1 week vs. Villanova and Georgetown, Sheppard averaged 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. She played a key role in the Friars' 66-58 overtime victory on the road against Georgetown on Jan. 23, scoring a game-high 21 points. Seven of her 21 points came during the overtime session, including a 5-6 performance from the charity stripe in the final 40-seconds of play.
FRIARS IN OVERTIME... Providence is 2-1 in overtime games this season. Both of their wins during overtime have come on the road against Maine (66-61) and Georgetown (66-58). The Friars lone loss in OT came at home against Yale (63-57) in the 2021-22 season opener.
PROVIDENCE IS 4-1 ON THE ROAD... The Friars have posted a 4-1 record this season on the road, including a 2-1 mark in BIG EAST regular-season play. Providence's only loss on the road came against Villanova on Jan. 21 at Finneran Pavilion (71-56).
FULL STRENGTH... On Jan. 11 against Xavier, the Friars suited an entire roster of healthy players for the first time during the 2021-22 season. Four different players on the roster have missed seven-or-more games on the year due to injury. Providence has remained at full strength for each of the last five games and have posted a 3-2 record, with wins over Xavier, St. John's and Georgetown.
DEFENSE... The Friars have held six opponents to 50 points or less this season, including three BIG EAST opponents: Villanova (47), Xavier (49) and St. John's (49). The Friars are 6-0 in those games, including a 3-0 mark in the BIG EAST Conference.Â
FRIARS LEAD THE BIG EAST AND RANK 19TH IN THE NATION IN FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE... Providence leads the BIG EAST and ranks 19th in the nation in field-goal percentage defense (.351). The Friars have posted an 9-4 record this season when holding it's opponents below 40-percent from the field.
CLEANING THE GLASS... Providence has recorded 40+ rebounds in 11 of its 18 games, including two games with 50+ boards. Last year, Providence only eclipsed 40 rebounds in just one game (49 vs. Butler, 3/5/21). As a team, the Friars rank third in the BIG EAST in total rebounds (687) and rebounds per game (40.4 rpg). The Friars hauled in a season-best 51 rebounds against Brown.Â
FRIARS RANK 14th IN THE NATION IN DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING... Providence leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in the nation in defensive rebounds, averaging 29.7 per game. Tennessee leads the NCAA in defensive rebounding (33.2 drpg).
DOUBLE-TROUBLE... Janai Crooms leads the Friars and ranks second in the BIG EAST with six double-doubles. Mary Baskerville (2), Olivia Olsen (1) and Alyssa Geary (1) also have recorded double-doubles for the Friars this season. Additionally, Baskerville has 19 double-doubles in her career, which ranks third in the BIG EAST among active players.
FRIARS AMONG THE TOP SHOT-BLOCKING TEAMS IN THE NATION... The Friars currently lead the BIG EAST and rank third in the nation in blocked shots (110) and second in NCAA Division I in blocks per game (6.6 bpg). Mary Baskerville leads the Friars with an average of 2.9 rejections per game. Five players on the team have cracked double-digits in blocked shots and have combined for 97 of the Friars' 119 rejections overall: Baskerville (32), Crooms (20), Alyssa Geary (20), Olivia Olsen (14) and Emily Archibald (11).
MORE REJECTION... The Friars recorded a season-high 11 blocks against Xavier on Jan. 11. It marked the second time this year that the team has registered double-digit blocks. Prior to this season, the last time the Friars recorded double-digit blocks in a game was on Nov. 12, 2013 against Bryant.
MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS AMONG NCAA DIVISION I ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS IN BLOCKED SHOTS AND BLOCKS PER GAME... Mary Baskerville ranks 21st among NCAA Division I active career leaders in blocks per game (1.83 bpg). In 94 games at Providence, Baskerville has recorded 172 blocked shots. Her career total also ranks second among active BIG EAST players, trailing only UConn's Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Baskerville also ranks 24th among active NCAA career leaders it total blocks.
MARY BASKERVILLE REACHES 1,000-POINT MILESTONE... In her 91st career game at Providence, Mary Baskerville became the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She hit the mark against St. John's on Jan. 14 with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter on a lay-in. Baskerville currently owns 1,026 career points and ranks 33rd on the Friars' all-time scoring list (10.9 ppg). She is three points shy of taking sole possession of 32nd place, held by Sonya Lewis '94 (1,028).
MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS 15th ALL-TIME AT PROVIDENCE IN CAREER REBOUNDS... Senior Mary Baskerville ranks 15th all-time in career boards at Providence with 671. She is 18 rebounds shy of taking sole possession of 14th place, currently held by Nadine Malcolm '97 (688).
JANAI CROOMS RANKS 14TH AT PROVIDENCE CAREER ASSISTS... Janai Crooms owns 304 career assists and ranks 14th on the Friars' all-time list heading into Friday's game at Creighton. Crooms leads the Friars with 4.0 assists per game.
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.
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 18 games off the bench and is averaging 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She is shooting an impressive 59.8-percent from the field (49-82).
OLSEN RECORDS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE... Freshman Olivia Olsen came off the bench to record her first career double-double on Jan. 16 against Seton Hall. She recorded 10 points and a career-high 12 boards to achieve the feat. She also dished two assists and collected one blocked shot.
ROOKIE IMPACT... Freshman point guard Kylee Sheppard missed nine of the Friars first 11 games while battling injury. She has appeared in each of the last seven games for Providence and has played in nine games overall. In a small sample size of the season, she has played a key role as a rookie. She currently ranks second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg) and assists (2.4 apg) and ranks first in steals (2.0 spg). She also contributes 4.0 rebounds per game. Sheppard is shooting 47-percent from the field (39-82), including a 13-32 clip from beyond the arc (.406). She has reached double digits in the scoring column five times, including a career-best 22 points against DePaul. In the Friars' most recent victory over Georgetown on Jan. 23, Sheppard drained 21 points, including seven in overtime.
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.Â
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 will return home to host Connecticut on Sunday, Jan. 30 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is slated for 11:00 a.m. and the game will be broadcast live on SNY.
