Providence College Athletics
Providence College
Villanova
Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. No. 25 Villanova
12/3/2022 7:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Friars will host the Wildcats in BIG EAST action on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Game Notes (PDF) |  Watch Live - FloSports |  Live Stats
FRIARS HOST NO. 25 VILLANOVA IN BIG EAST HOME OPENER ... Providence will host No. 25 Villanova in its BIG EAST home opener on Sunday, Dec. 4 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital / FloSports.
LAST TIME PROVIDENCE DEFEATED A RANKED OPPONENT... The Friars will face their second nationally ranked opponent of the season when they host No. 25 Villanova on Sunday. On Dec. 2, the Friars faced No. 3/3 Connecticut at Gampel Pavilion. The Friars fell to the Huskies, 98-53. The last time Providence defeated a ranked opponent dates back to Jan. 23, 2013. The Friars claimed a 65-60 victory over then-No. 25 Villanova at Alumni Hall.Â
FAMILIAR FOE... The Friars and Villanova Wildcats have met 81 times, marking the most games against a single opponent in Providence College women's basketball history.
ALL-TIME SERIES... Villanova leads the all-time series against Providence, 53-28. The Friars and Wildcats split the 2021-22 season series, with each team winning on its home court.
FRIARS AND WILDCATS AT ALUMNI HALL... The Friars and Wildcats have met 38 times at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. Providence leads the series on its home court, 21-17. In the most recent meeting at Alumni Hall, the Friars defeated Villanova, 66-47, on Dec. 3, 2021.Â
A LOOK AT THE LAST DECADE... Providence and Villanova have played 20 times over the course of the last decade. The Friars have claimed just four wins against the Wildcats during that stretch, with all four of those victories coming at Alumni Hall. In breaking down the series during that 10-year span, Providence is 4-6 vs. Villanova at home and 0-10 on the road.
FRIARS AND WILDCATS IN OVERTIME... Providence and Villanova have played five overtime games during the all-time series. Providence is 4-1 all-time in those games, recording its first setback in OT vs. Villanova on Feb. 24, 2021. Villanova escaped Alumni Hall with a 63-58 overtime win as Maddy Siegrist hit a deep step-back three with 6.1-seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, 55-55. The Wildcat went on to outscore the Friars 8-3 in the extra session to take the win.
PROVIDENCE DROPS BIG EAST OPENER AT NO. 3 UCONN... Providence dropped its BIG EAST opener at No. 3/3 UConn on Dec. 2 in Storrs, Conn. The Friars got double-digit efforts from Grace Efosa (11 points) and Logan Cook (10 points), while Jana Crooms was held to four points, four rebounds and seven assists. The Huskies had five players in double figures, with Lou Lopez Senechal and Aubrey Griffin each netting a game-high 18 points.
DEFENSE WINS GAMES... The Friars have held six of their nine opponents below 40-percent shooting from the field this season and the Friars are 6-0 in those games.Â
FRIARS PUT UP SEASON-BEST 85 POINTS AGAINST BRYANT... Providence defeated Bryant, 85-60, in its most recent game on Nov. 27. It marks the highest single-game scoring total for the Friars since Nov. 14, 2017, when the squad claimed a 98-95 overtime victory against Northeastern. Additionally, it's the first time Providence scored 80+ points in a game since Feb. 8, 2019 when it defeated Seton Hall 82-75.
HOME-SWEET-HOME... Providence enters Sunday's game with a 6-3 record. The Friars are 5-0 on their home court (Alumni Hall) and 1-3 on the road.
PLAYER MAKER ON OFFENSE... Janai Crooms leads the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and assists (4.3 apg) through nine games. As a team, Providence has made 216 field goals this season and Crooms has scored or assisted 44-percent of Providence's buckets (94).Â
JANAI CROOMS STANDS ALONE... Janai Crooms is only active player in the league with more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 350 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in her career. Through nine games this season, Crooms ranks 12th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.8 ppg), seventh in rebounding (8.2 rpg), fifth in defensive rebounds (5.9 drpg), fourth in assists (4.3 apg), fifth in field-goal percentage (.579) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (+1.9).
20 SOMETHING... Janai Crooms has scored 20+ points in three of the Friars' nine games. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in 20+ point games. Maddy Siegrist (Villanova) leads the way with eight, followed by DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (six), UConn's Azzi Fudd (four) and Seton Hall's Lauren Park-Lane (four).Â
1,000-POINT MILESTONE... Janai Crooms scored her 1,000th point in the Friars' season opener vs. Dayton on Nov. 7. She entered the game 14 points shy of the milestone and hit the mark with 7:41 left in the third quarter. Crooms heads into Friday's game at UConn ranked 24th all-time in career scoring at Providence with 1,119 points.Â
CLIMBING THE LADDER... Janai Crooms ranks 10th on the Friars' all-time career assist list (377). Crooms dished 171 of her 370 assists during her two seasons at Ohio State (2018-20), added 65 at Michigan State (2020-21) and has registered 141 dimes with the Friars (2021-present). Through 121 career games, Crooms has averaged 3.1 assists per contest.
CROOMS CRACKS TOP-25 IN REBOUNDING... In addition to being ranked among Providence's all-time leaders in scoring and assists, Crooms also has cracked the top-25 in career rebounding at PC. She currently ranks 24th on the Friars' all-time list with 578 rebounds. She has hauled in double-digit rebounds in each of the last two games, including a season-high 17 boards against Weber State on Nov. 26. Her 17 boards mark the highest single-game total by a BIG EAST player this season.
SINGLE DIGITS... Five of the Friars' eight games have been decided by nine points or less and team has posted a 3-2 record in those games. Additionally, Providence has posted a 1-1 record in games decided by three points or less.Â
FIVE FRIARS IN DOUBLE FIGURES... Providence had five players reach double-figures in the scoring column during its 85-60 victory over Bryant on Nov. 27, including Janai Crooms (19), Audrey Koch (13), Emily Archibald (12), Brynn Farrell (12) and Grace Efosa (10). It marked the first time five Friars scored in double digits in a single game since Feb. 23, 2019 vs. Creighton.
JANAI CROOMS MAKES CONSECUTIVE APPEARANCES ON BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Janai Crooms has earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll each of the last two weeks (Nov. 21 & 28). To claim her most recent recognition, Crooms was named Most Outstanding Player of the Friar Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 25-27) after averaging 11.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in a 3-0 week for Providence.
OLIVIA OLSEN NAMED TO FRIAR THANKSGIVING CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM... Olivia Olsen was named to the Friar Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team, following Providence's three victories over Hartford, Weber State and Bryant (Nov. 25-27). Olsen led the Friars in scoring (13.0 ppg) and contributed 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocked shots, 1.0 assist and 1.0 steal per game. She shot 55.6-percent from the field (15-27) and 90-percent from the foul line (9-10).Â
KYLEE SHEPPARD RETURNS TO THE LINE-UP... Sophomore guard Kylee Sheppard was injured in the season opener vs. Dayton (Nov. 7) and missed the Friars' next four games. She returned to the court for the opening game of the Friar Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25 and has played four-straight games. In her return, Sheppard averaged 10.0 points, 3.7 boards and 2.7 assists per game in the Friar Thanksgiving Classic. She scored nine points and added two rebounds and two assists in the BIG EAST opener vs. UConn on Dec. 2.Â
DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORERS... Eight of the 12 players on the Friars' roster have scored in double figures at least once this season, and six of the eight have reached double digits in multiple games. The challenge for the Friars is putting those individual scoring efforts together, consistently. The Friars have had three or more players in double figures in the same game just three times. Providence is 3-0 when they have three or more players in double figures. In the remaining five games, just two players (or fewer) have reached double digits in the scoring column and Providence has posted a 3-3 record in those games.
ALL GROWN UP... Last season, the Friars featured one of the youngest rosters in the BIG EAST Conference with six freshmen. Those six players entered the 2022-23 season having earned a wealth of experience, with each player seeing action in 20-or-more games as a rookie. Audrey Koch and Olivia Olsen were two of just three players on the roster to compete in all 30 games last season. Additionally, Emily Archibald, Kylee Sheppard and Koch each started 15-or-more games.
NEWCOMERS... The Friars added two transfers and one freshman to the roster in 2022-23. Graduate student Logan Cook played four seasons at Iowa, during which time the Hawkeyes won two Big Ten titles (2019, 2022) and advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament (2022) and Sweet 16 (2019). She played 53 career games and averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. Junior Brynn Farrell played two seasons at Florida, where she played 28 games for the Gators after being slowed by an injury. She averaged 2.9 points and 1.0 rebound per game and connected on 22-28 free throw attempts in two seasons (.786). Kammie Ludwig is the lone true freshman on the squad and attended Geneseo High School prior to arriving on campus. The 3A All-State selection and IBCA All-State honoree averaged 24.6 points per game as a senior and finished her career as Geneseo's all-time leading scorer (1,881 points).
JANAI CROOMS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST TEAM... Senior guard Janai Crooms was among the list of 11 student-athletes named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, released at the league's annual media day on Oct. 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Crooms is entering her second season with the Friars and her final season of NCAA Division I basketball. In addition to her time at Providence (2021-present), she also played two seasons at Ohio State (2018-20) and one season at Michigan State (2020-21). A year ago, Crooms was named All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention after leading the Friars in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg) and assists (3.5 apg).
2021-22 UNANIMOUS BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM HONOREE KYLEE SHEPPARD RETURNS FOR SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN... Kylee Sheppard missed a third of her rookie season with injuries, but still found a way to make a significant impact during her time on the court. She appeared in 20 of the Friars' 30 games and averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds. 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Sheppard finished the year ranked third on the team in scoring and second in assists and steals. She shot 40.2-percent from the field (68-169), including 24-68 from three-point territory (.353), and recorded eight double-digit scoring games. Sheppard notched 20+ points in two games as a rookie, and both came during BIG EAST regular-season play, including a career-best 22 points against DePaul (Jan. 7) on 9-12 shooting from the field.
BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES' POLL... The Friars were picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, with 34 points. Connecticut is picked to win the league, having collected 10 first place votes and 100 points overall. Creighton (89 points) and Villanova (83 points; 1 first-place votes) round out the top three spots. Last season, the Friars finished eighth in the 2022 regular-season standings with an 11-19 overall record and a 6-14 mark in the BIG EAST.
FRIARS IN THE POSTSEASON... The Friars' last appeared in the postseason during the 2018-19 campaign. 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... Providence will remain home at Alumni Hall to host non-conference opponents Brown (Dec. 7) and Central Connecticut (Dec. 10).
