Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Butler

PROVIDENCE AND BUTLER TO SQUARE OFF FOR THE SECOND TIME IN SIX DAYS... Providence is set to face Butler for the second time in six days when the two teams square off on Wednesday, at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 2, but was postponed due to COVID issues within the Friars' program. Providence and Butler recently met on Feb. 11 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. The Friars earned a 64-53 victory.

FRIARS AND BULLDOGS ALL-TIME... Providence and Butler have met 19 times during the history of the two women's basketball programs. Butler leads the all-time series, 11-8, but the Friars have claimed wins in six of the last eight games, including each of the last four.

FRIARS AND BULLDOGS IN OVERTIME... Providence holds a 2-1 record vs. Butler in overtime games. On Jan. 18, 2019, the Friars and Bulldogs played an epic three-overtime game, which resulted in a 74-68 win for Providence. It marked just the fourth triple-overtime game in BIG EAST women's basketball history.

FRIARS AND BULLDOGS AT HINKLE FIELDHOUSE... The Bulldogs lead the series against the Friars at Hinkle Fieldhouse, 5-3. Providence has claimed victories in two of the last three games at Hinkle, including the most recent meeting at the facility on Dec. 5, 2020. On that day, Providence earned a 73-52 win.

FRIARS WENT 3-0 VS. BUTLER DURING 2020-21 SEASON... The Friars posted a 3-0 record against the Bulldogs last season. Providence swept the regular-season series and went on to defeat Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament First Round (63-61). The two regular-season wins were decided by double digits, including a 73-52 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In that game, Kyra Spiwak '21 scored a career-high 28 points, while shooting 10-17 from the field and hitting 8-12 three point attempts. Providence earned a 62-50 victory later in the season at Alumni Hall, as four Friars scored in double-figures. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Friars fell behind 32-25 at halftime and fought back to claim a two-point victory (63-61). Providence used a 5-2 spurt to open the fourth quarter to take its first lead of the game since the 1:25 mark of the first quarter (52-51). Mary Baskerville converted two free throws with 28-seconds remaining in the game and then pulled down a critical defensive rebound after Butler fired off three-consecutive three pointers to try and win the game in the closing seconds. Alyssa Geary paced the Friars with 19 points and nine rebounds.

RECAP • PROVIDENCE VS. BUTLER (FEB. 11, 2022)... After Providence jumped out to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter, Butler went on an 11-0 run to take a 20-19 advantage in the second. The Bulldogs out-scored the Friars 21-7 in the second quarter overall. In the second half, Providence chipped away at Butler's lead and dominated the fourth quarter with a 25-12 scoring edge. Seniors Mary Baskerville and Alyssa Geary were saddled with foul trouble, and a trio of freshmen (Olivia Olsen, Kylee Sheppard and Audrey Koch) stepped up, combining to score 16 of the Friars' 25 fourth-quarter points. Olsen finished the game with her second career double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Sheppard and Baskerville each notched 11 points, while Janai Crooms checked in with 10 points eight rebounds and eight assists. It marked the first time this season that four players reached double figures in the scoring column.

OLIVIA OLSEN MAKING A BIG IMPACT... Freshman Olivia Olsen has been providing a spark for Providence off the bench this season, shooting an efficient 58-percent from the field (70-120) and averaging 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Olsen has reached double figures in the scoring column in each of the last three games. During the three-game stretch, she is averaging 13.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocked shots and 1.0 assist per game, while shooting 17-30 from the floor (.567).

ROAD WARRIORS... The Friars will play four of their last five games on the road. The closing stretch of the season includes three road games in five days vs. Butler (Feb. 16), Seton Hall (Feb. 18) and St. John's (Feb. 20).

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.

FRIARS HAVE RECORDED MOST WINS IN BIG EAST PLAY SINCE 2018-19... Providence enters Wednesday's game against Butler with a 5-10 record in the BIG EAST. It marks the most league wins for PC since the 2018-19 campaign, when it claimed an 8-10 mark. Four of the Friars' 10 losses in BIG EAST play this season have been decided by single digits, including two games by three-points-or-less.

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.

CLEANING THE GLASS... Providence has recorded 40+ rebounds in 12 of its 24 games, including two games with 50+ boards. Last year, Providence eclipsed 40 rebounds in just one game (49 vs. Butler, 3/5/21). Providence currently ranks third in the BIG EAST in rebounding (38.5 rpg).

DOUBLE-TROUBLE... Janai Crooms leads the Friars and is tied for third in the BIG EAST with six double-doubles. Mary Baskerville (2), Olivia Olsen (2) 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 fifth in the BIG EAST among active players.

FRIARS AMONG THE TOP SHOT-BLOCKING TEAMS IN THE NATION... The Friars lead the BIG EAST and rank third in the nation in blocked shots per game (6.1 bpg) and total blocks (147). Mary Baskerville leads the Friars with an average of 2.24 rejections per game. Five players on the team have cracked double-digits in blocked shots and have combined for 121 of the Friars' 147 rejections overall: Baskerville (38), Janai Crooms (29), Alyssa Geary (25), Olivia Olsen (20) and Emily Archibald (11).

FRIARS' HAVE RECORDED FOURTH HIGHEST BLOCK TOTAL IN PROGRAM HISTORY... The Friars have recorded 147 blocked shots this season, with five regular-season games left on the schedule. The Friars' 147 blocked shots are the fourth-highest total in program history for a single season. The single-season record for blocked shots was set in 1977-78 (190).

190 1977-78

152 1983-84

151 2008-09

147 2021-22

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 25th among NCAA Division I active career leaders in blocks per game (1.78 bpg). In 100 games at Providence, Baskerville has recorded 178 blocked shots. Her career total ranks second among active BIG EAST players, trailing only UConn's Olivia Nelson-Ododa, and also ranks 24th among NCAA active career leaders in total blocks.

MARY BASKERVILLE WORKING HER WAY UP THE FRIARS' ALL-TIME SCORING LIST... Mary Baskerville currently owns 1,052 career points and ranks 29th on the Friars' all-time scoring list. Baskerville needs just four points to take sole possession of 28th place, currently held by Mary Ellen Buchanan '79 (1,055).

MARY BASKERVILLE RANKS 14th ALL-TIME AT PROVIDENCE IN CAREER REBOUNDS... Senior Mary Baskerville ranks 14th all-time in career boards at Providence with 692. She needs 19 rebounds to take sole possession of 13th place, currently held by Mary Casey '79 (710).

JANAI CROOMS RANKS 13TH AT PROVIDENCE CAREER ASSISTS... Janai Crooms owns 323 career assists and ranks 13th on the Friars' all-time list. In 106 career games, Crooms is averaging 3.0 assists per game. Crooms needs just two assists to take sole possession of 12th place on the Friars' all-time list, currently held by Mary Ann McCoy '80 (324).

FLIRTING WITH THE PROGRAM'S FIRST TRIPLE-DOUBLE... Janai Crooms has narrowly missed out on a bid for a triple-double in four 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. Most recently, Crooms put up 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against Butler (Feb. 11). In the program's 48-year existence, a Friar has never recorded a triple-double.

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 13 games for Providence and has played in 15 games overall. In a small sample size of the season, she has played a key role and currently ranks second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and assists (2.5 apg) and first in steals (1.8 spg). She also contributes 3.7 rebounds per game. She has reached double digits in the scoring column eight times, including a career-best 22 points against DePaul. She eclipsed the 20-point mark for a second time in Providence's victory over Georgetown on Jan. 23. Sheppard drained 21 points against the Hoyas, including seven in overtime. For the season, Sheppard is shooting 44-percent from the floor (60-136), including 41-percent from three (22-54).

AUDREY KOCH CRACKS DOUBLE FIGURES... On Jan. 28, freshmen Audrey Koch came off the bench in the Friars' game against Creighton and cracked double digits in the scoring column for the first time as a Friar. In just 20 minutes of action, she netted 13 points on 5-7 shooting, including a 2-3 effort from beyond the arc.

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.

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.

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 remain on the road to for match-ups against Seton Hall (Feb. 18) and St. John's (Feb. 20). Both games will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FloSports.

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Players Mentioned

Emily Archibald

Mary Baskerville

Janai Crooms

Alyssa Geary

Audrey Koch

Olivia Olsen

Kylee Sheppard

Kyra Spiwak

Providence College Athletics