Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Brown

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FRIARS HOST CROSS-CITY RIVAL BROWN ... Providence will host cross-city rival Brown on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on FloSports.

PROVIDENCE VS. BROWN ALL-TIME... The Friars and Bears will meet for the 30th time when they tip-off on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall. The Friars lead the all-time series, 20-9. The first two meetings between the two schools occurred prior to Providence earning varsity status in women's basketball.

FRIARS AND BEARS AT ALUMNI HALL... The Friars and Bears have met 13 times at Alumni Hall / Mullaney Gymnasium. Providence leads the all-time series on its home court, 9-4. In the last meeting at Alumni Hall, Brown claimed a 64-59 win as part of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 2, 2017.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST SEASON... The two teams last met on Dec. 8, 2021 at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The Friars claimed a 59-43 victory over the and snapped a three-game winless streak to the Bears. During a span of 12:29 in the first and second quarters, the Friars outscored Brown, 25-6, to break the game open. Janai Crooms paced the Friars with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She was two assists shy of a triple double (eight). Olivia Olsen contributed 13 points on 5-8 shooting and nine boards. Isabella Mauricio was the lone player for Brown in double figures with 12 points.

PROVIDENCE DROPS CONSECUTIVE GAMES TO NATIONALLY-RANKED FOES TO OPEN BIG EAST PLAY... 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 Janai 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. On Dec. 4, Providence met its second-straight ranked opponent when it host No. 25 Villanova in BIG EAST play. The Wildcats claimed a 79-54 victory. Crooms led the Friars with her second double-double of the season on 16 points and 10 rebounds. Maddy Siegrist tallied 29 points and nine boards for 'Nova.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES... The Friars have held six of their 10 opponents below 40-percent shooting from the field this season and the Friars are 6-0 in those games.

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 6-4 record. The Friars are 5-1 on their home court (Alumni Hall) and 1-3 on the road. Providence's lone home loss came at the hands on No. 25 Villanova (79-54) on Dec. 4.

PLAYER MAKER ON OFFENSE... Janai Crooms leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and assists (4.1 apg) through 10 games. As a team, Providence has made 236 field goals this season and Crooms has scored or assisted 40-percent of Providence's buckets (103).

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 10 games this season, Crooms ranks 14th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.9 ppg), seventh in rebounding (8.4 rpg), fifth in defensive rebounds (6.2 drpg), fifth in assists (4.1 apg), sixth in field-goal percentage (.569) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (+1.5).

20 SOMETHING... Janai Crooms has scored 20+ points in three of the Friars' 10 games. She ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in 20+ point games. Maddy Siegrist (Villanova) leads the way with nine, followed by DePaul's Aneesah Morrow (seven), Seton Hall's Lauren Park-Lane (five) and UConn's Azzi Fudd (four).

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 Wednesday's game against Brown ranked 23rd all-time in career scoring at Providence with 1,135 points.

CLIMBING THE LADDER... Janai Crooms ranks 10th on the Friars' all-time career assist list (379). 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 143 dimes with the Friars (2021-present). Through 122 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 22nd on the Friars' all-time list with 588 rebounds. She has hauled in double-digit rebounds in three of the last four 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' 10 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.

BOARD IT... The Friars have out-rebounded eight of their 10 opponents this season and have posted a 6-2 record in those games. Providence is 0-2 on the season when it secures fewer rebounds than its opponent.

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 in back-to-back 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).

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 five-straight games. In her return, Sheppard averaged 10.0 points, 3.7 boards and 2.7 assists per game in the Friar Thanksgiving Classic. In two BIG EAST games, she has averaged 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

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 3-4 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 Central Connecticut on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:00 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Emily Archibald

Logan Cook

Janai Crooms

Grace Efosa

Brynn Farrell

Audrey Koch

Kammie Ludwig

Olivia Olsen

Kylee Sheppard

Providence College Athletics