Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Marquette

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FRIARS CONTINUE THREE-GAME HOME STAND ON WEDNESDAY ... The Friars will continue their three-game home stand on Wednesday, Feb. 15 as they welcome BIG EAST foe Marquette to Alumni Hall. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.

ANNUAL PINK OUT FRIARTOWN GAME... Wednesday's game vs. Marquette will serve as the program's annual Pink Out Friartown game, presented by Rhode Island Medical Imaging.

PROVIDENCE VS. MARQUETTE ALL-TIME... The Friars and Golden Eagles have met 29 times during the history of the two programs. Marquette leads the all-time series, 24-5, including victories in each of the last 12 meetings.

LAST TIME PROVIDENCE DEFEATED MARQUETTE... The last time Providence defeated Marquette dates back to Jan. 27, 2017. On that day, Providence recorded a 66-64 victory in Providence, R.I.

FRIARS AND GOLDEN EAGLES AT ALUMNI HALL... Providence and Marquette have met 13 times at Alumni Hall. The Golden Eagles have earned an 11-2 record vs. Providence on its home court, including wins in each of the last five meetings at the venue.

FIRST MEETING OF THE 2022-23 SEASON SERIES... The Golden Eagles claimed an 80-57 victory over Providence in the first game of the season series held at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wis. on Jan. 14. Providence clawed back from a 13-point halftime deficit to get within six (45-39), with 5:45 remaining in the third. The Golden Eagles closed the quarter with a 13-1 run to take a 58-40 lead and were never threatened in the final 10 minutes. Marquette led wire-to-wire in the victory as Jordan King recorded a game-high 31 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Janai Crooms led Providence with 15 points and seven rebounds. Kylee Sheppard (14) and Olivia Olsen (13) also reached double figures in the scoring column. Providence committed 23 turnovers in the game, leading to a 20-10 scoring margin for Marquette in points off turnovers. The Golden Eagles dominated the glass, 44-31, and outscored the Friars 12-3 in second-chance points. Marquette also got a big lift from its reserves, outscoring the Providence bench, 25-5.

FRIARS FINISH NON-CONFERENCE PLAY 9-2... The Friars finished their non-conference slate with a 9-2 record. It marks the most victories for Providence in regular-season non-conference play since 2019-20 (9-3).

TRAILING AT HALFTIME... The Friars are 1-11 this season when trailing at halftime. Providence earned its lone victory of the season when trailing at the half on Jan. 4 vs. No. 25/24 Creighton. Providence trailed 46-39 at the break and went on to claim a 79-75 victory.

LEADING AT THE HALF... The Friars are 12-2 this season when leading at halftime. Both losses in this scenario were decided by two points or less. Providence led 60-50 at URI and fell by a final score of 74-72 (Nov. 14). In the Friars' most recent game, they held a 33-32 lead at the half against Butler and dropped a 63-62 decision (Feb. 11).

SINGLE DIGITS... Eleven of the Friars' 26 games have been decided by nine points or less and the team has posted a 6-5 record in those games. Additionally, Providence has posted a 3-2 record in games decided by five points or less.

DEFENSE WINS GAMES... The Friars have held 14 of their 26 opponents below 40-percent shooting from the field this season and are 12-2 in those games. PC lost for the first time when holding an opponent below 40-percent on Dec. 28 at DePaul. The Friars held the Blue Demons to 37.7-percent shooting and dropped a 78-69 decision. On Jan. 24, Providence held Creighton to 39.7-percent shooting in a 64-46 loss.

BOARD IT... The Friars have out-rebounded 17 of their 26 opponents this season and have posted an 13-4 record in those games. Providence is 0-9 on the season when it secures fewer rebounds than its opponent.

HOME-SWEET-HOME... The Friars own an 13-13 record this season, with eight of those victories coming on their home court - Alumni Hall (8-6). Three of Providence's six losses at home were to opponents either ranked in the national polls or receiving votes at the time of the game. Providence is looking to get back on track at Alumni Hall, having lost four-straight and five of its last six overall. The Friars last victory at Alumni Hall dates back to Jan. 11 vs. Xavier (64-50).

GRACE EFOSA LEADS THE OFFENSE IN BIG EAST PLAY... Grace Efosa ranks third on the team overall in scoring, with 9.7 points per game. In BIG EAST play, she is the only Friar averaging double figures in the scoring column (11.5 ppg). She also improves her shooting percentage in BIG EAST play, from .420 to .446 (66-148). Efosa has reached double figures in the scoring column 12 times, including six BIG EAST games. She recorded a career-high 27 points in the Friars' win over then-No. 25/24 Creighton.

BLOCK PARTY... Olivia Olsen ranks second in the BIG EAST and 26th in the nation in blocked shots (46). Olsen has recorded at least one blocked shot in 21 of the Friars' 26 games. She also has recorded 12 multi-block games. There are only four players in program history who have recorded 50+ blocks in a single season: Mary Ann McCoy (68 in 1977-78), Andrea Mangum (52 in 1990-91), Monika Roberts (57 in 1999-00) and Mary Baskerville (53 in 2018-19 and 51 in 2019-20). Baskerville is the only player to reach 50+ blocked shots in multiple seasons. With five games remaining on the regular-season schedule, Olsen is four blocks shy of reaching 50.

JANAI CROOMS STANDS ALONE... Janai Crooms is only active player in the league with more than 1,200 points, 650 rebounds, 400 assists, 150 steals and 100 blocked shots in her career. Crooms ranks 19th in the BIG EAST in scoring (11.5 ppg), eighth in rebounding (7.1 rpg), fifth in assists (3.8 apg), 10th in field-goal percentage (.490), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.3), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.1 drpg) and 13th in offensive rebounds (2.0 orpg).

20 SOMETHING... Five different Friars have recorded at least one 20-point game this season. Janai Crooms has scored 20+ points in three games. Olivia Olsen recorded the first 20+ point game of her career against Brown (22) on Dec. 7. On Dec. 28, Brynn Farrell dropped a career-best 21 points and Grace Efosa tallied a career-best 27 points against No. 25/24 Creighton on Jan. 4. Kylee Sheppard scored a season-best 20 points against Seton Hall on Jan. 8. Six players on the Friars' roster have recorded at least one 20-point game during their careers: Crooms (eight), Kylee Sheppard (three), Olsen (one) Farrell (one) Efosa (one) and Emily Archibald (one).

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 Marquette ranked 13th all-time in career scoring at Providence with 1,273 points.

CLIMBING THE LADDER... Janai Crooms ranks fifth on the Friars' all-time career assist list (434). Crooms dished 171 of her 433 assists during her two seasons at Ohio State (2018-20), added 65 at Michigan State (2020-21) and has registered 198 dimes with the Friars (2021-present). Through 137 career games, Crooms has averaged 3.2 assists per contest.

CROOMS CRACKS TOP-20 IN REBOUNDING... In addition to being ranked among Providence's all-time leaders in scoring and assists, Crooms also has cracked the top-20 in career rebounding at PC. She currently ranks 16th on the Friars' all-time list with 681 rebounds. She has recorded double-digit boards in six games this season, including a season-high 17 rebounds against Weber State on Nov. 26.

FRIARS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS IN 2022-23... The Friars are 1-3 this season vs. nationally ranked opponents and 0-2 vs. opponents receiving votes in the national polls.

12/2/22 #3/3 Connecticut 53-98 (L) Storrs, Conn.

12/4/22 #25/RV Villanova 54-79 (L) Providence, R.I.

12/18/22 RV/RV St. John's 55-63 (L) Queens, N.Y.

1/4/23 #25/24 Creighton 79-75 (W) Omaha, Neb.

1/24/23 -/RV Creighton 46-64 (L) Providence, R.I.

2/1/23 #5/4 Connecticut 54-64 (L) Providence, R.I.

FRIARS PUT UP SEASON-BEST 85 POINTS AGAINST BRYANT... The Friars defeated Bryant, 85-60, on Nov. 27. It marks their highest single-game scoring total since Nov. 14, 2017, when they claimed a 98-95 overtime victory against Northeastern. It's the first time Providence scored 80+ points in a game since Feb. 8, 2019 when it defeated Seton Hall 82-75.

LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY SINCE 2018-19 SEASON... The Friars defeated Central Connecticut, 77-45, on Dec. 10. The 32-point win is the largest margin of victory since defeating Bryant by 44 (74-32) on Dec. 7, 2019. The Friars have won two games this season by 30-or-more points. Providence defeated Hartford, 60-30, on Nov. 25.

GRACE EFOSA NETS GAME WINNER IN CLOSING SECONDS TO DEFEAT XAVIER; EARNS SPOT ON BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Providence College junior guard Grace Efosa scored a game-high 16 points, including the game-winning bucket with 4.4-seconds left in regulation, to lift the Friars to a 50-48 victory over Xavier on Jan. 28 at the Cintas Center. She shot 8-16 from the floor vs. the Musketeers and also recorded a game-high eight rebounds and added two steals and one assist. For her efforts, Efosa was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 30. It marked the first conference recognition of her career.

JANAI CROOMS MAKES CONSECUTIVE APPEARANCES ON BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL... Janai Crooms 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.

KYLEE SHEPPARD NAMED TO BIG EAST WEEKLY HONOR ROLL AS FRIARS CLOSE NON-CONFERENCE PLAY... Sophomore guard Kylee Sheppard was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Dec. 26. She posted her first career double-double against Sacred Heart on Dec. 20, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She also added four assists, two steals and a career-best two blocked shots.

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).

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... The Friars' complete their three-game home stand against DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is slated for Noon.

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Players Mentioned

Emily Archibald

Mary Baskerville

Janai Crooms

Grace Efosa

Brynn Farrell

Olivia Olsen

Kylee Sheppard

Providence College Athletics