Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Xavier

FRIARS OPEN BIG EAST PLAY ON THE ROAD AGAINST XAVIER... Providence will open BIG EAST Conference play at Xavier on Thursday, Dec. 4. The game will be played at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and is scheduled to tip at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN+.

PROVIDENCE VS. XAVIER ALL-TIME... The Friars lead the all-time series against the Musketeers, 13-11. Providence has dominated the series of late, winning 12 of the last 15 games. The Friars have won each of the last six meetings between the two programs.

FRIARS AND MUSKETEERS AT THE CINTAS CENTER... Xavier leads the series against Providence in games played at the Cintas Center, 7-5. The Musketeers won the first five meetings between the two teams at the Cintas Center, but the Friars have rallied to win five of the last seven games at the venue.

SINGLE DIGITS... Twelve of the 24 meetings between Providence and Xavier have been decided by single digits, including six of the last eight games. The Friars swept the season series in 2024-25, with both games decided by single digits. On Jan. 15, 2025, the Friars defeated the Musketeers, 51-45, in Providence, R.I. In the most recent meeting between the two teams, Providence defeated Xavier, 61-53, in Cincinnati, Ohio on Feb. 12, 2025.

LAST XAVIER VICTORY... The last time Xavier defeated Providence dates back to Feb. 13, 2022. On that day, the Musketeers claimed a 62-60 victory at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I.

HOME-SWEET-HOME... The Friars will play eight of their 11 non-conference games in the friendly confines of Alumni Hall / Mullaney Gymnasium in Providence, R.I., which included a five-game home-stand to start the season. Providence is currently 5-1 at home in Alumni Hall.

FIRST TRUE ROAD GAME OF THE SEASON... Providence will play its first true road game of the season when it travels to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Xavier on Dec. 4. Providence has compiled a 5-1 record at home in Alumni Hall and have posted a 1-1 mark in neutral-site games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH... Mariyah Noel leads Xavier in scoring with 16.7 points per contest and adds 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. MacKenzie Givens is the only other Musketeer averaging double figures in the scoring column (11.1 ppg) and also contributes 4.3 boards while shooting 49-percent from the field (31-63). Meri Kanerva was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection in 2024-25 and was selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team ahead of this season at the league's annual media day in October. She enters Thursday's game averaging 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and team highs in assists (3.1 apg). Savannah White leads Xavier on the glass with 7.5 boards per game and also chips in 7.8 points, 2.8 assists and a team-best 1.8 blocks and 2.2 steals per game.

PROVIDENCE HANDS BRYANT UNIVERSITY FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON... Providence College hosted intra-state foe Bryant on Nov. 30 and claimed a 62-53 victory. The Bulldogs were off to their best start in program history and entered the game with a 7-0 record. Sabou Gueye netted a game-high 18 points, while Teneisia Brown hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds. Payton Dunbar scored 15 points for the Friars on the strength of a 4-6 shooting performance from beyond the arc.

TENEISIA BROWN OWNS THE GLASS... The Friars have out-rebounded or tied their opponent in rebounding during each of its eight games this season. Teneisia Brown leads the team and ranks first in the BIG EAST in total rebounds (66) and third in rebounds per game (8.3 rpg). She has hauled in a season-best 14 rebounds in two games vs. Central Connecticut (Nov. 10) and Bryant (Nov. 30).

HEATING UP FROM DEEP... Through eight games, Payton Dunbar leads the team in three-point percentage (.333, 16-48). In the Friars' first four games of the season, she shot just 21.7-percent from beyond the arc (5-23). In the last four games, Dunbar has hit 44-percent of her three-point attempts (11-25).

DOUBLE DIGITS... Sabou Gueye has recorded double digits in the scoring column a team-best six times this season. She leads the team and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring average at 14.9 points per game. Five other players on the roster have reached double figures, including Teneisia Brown (four), Payton Dunbar (four), Orlagh Gormley (two), Sophi Hall (one) and Audrey Shields (one).

DEFENSE... The Friars lead the BIG EAST and rank 15th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 52.3 points per game. Additionally, Providence ranks second in field-goal percentage defense (33rd in NCAA), having held its opponents to 34.4-percent from the floor. Providence has held all eight of its opponents below 40-percent shooting from the field.

FLOOR GENERAL... Sophomore Orlagh Gormley has returned to floor as the Friars' floor general after sitting out the final 22 games of her freshman campaign with an injury. She's made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor, leading the team in assists (3.4 apg) and steals (2.3 spg), while also contributing 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Gormley has been efficient when she opts to score the basketball, shooting 43-percent from the field (19-44). Gormley recorded a career-best 13 points against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 24. She also matched her career-high in rebounding during that game (eight) and added three assists and four steals.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE WATCH... Freshman Ashley Dinges played a season-high 29 minutes in the Friars' most recent victory over Bryant on Nov. 30 and narrowly missed out on her first career double-double. Dinges recorded a career-high nine points and nine rebounds vs. the Bulldogs. She shot 4-9 from the field and four of her nine rebounds came off the offensive glass.

FRIARS SHOOT SEASON-BEST 50-PERCENT FROM THE FLOOR... The Friars enjoyed their best shooting performance of the season in their win over Yale on Nov. 21. Providence shot 50-percent from the field (27-54), including 66.7-percent from the three-point arc (6-9). Providence has shot 45-percent or better from the field in two of its eight games this season.

SHARING THE SCORING LOAD... Providence is 3-0 on the season when three-or-more players crack double-digits in the scoring column. The Friars are 3-2 when fewer than three players reach double figures.

BACK-TO-BACK 20+ POINT GAMES FOR SABOU GUEYE... Grad transfer Sabou Gueye scored 20+ points in back-to-back games vs. Northeastern (21) and Yale (22). Her 22 points vs. the Bulldogs matched her career high, which she reached on Dec. 29, 2024 vs. Thomas (Ga.), while playing for Florida A&M.

SOPHI HALL PERFECT EN ROUTE TO A CAREER-BEST 18 POINTS... Junior Sophi Hall played 13 minutes off the bench in the Friars' match-up against Yale (Nov. 21) and recorded a career-high 18 points. Sixteen of her 18 points came in the second half. She was perfect from the field (5-5), including a 3-3 showing from beyond the arc. She also was 5-5 from the foul line.

SABOU GUEYE GETS THE FRIARS OVER FINISH LINE VS. NORTHEASTERN... Sabou Gueye scored 21 points, including 11 of the Friars' 15 in the fourth quarter, to defeat Northeastern (50-45) on Nov. 18. Gueye shot 10-16 from the field and added six rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot.

PAYTON DUNBAR'S CAREER-HIGH 22 POINTS LIFT FRIARS OVER BOSTON COLLEGE... Sophomore Payton Dunbar recorded a career-high 22 points against Boston College on Nov. 15. Dunbar shot 8-14 from the field, including a 5-10 performance beyond the arc. Entering the game, Dunbar was 0-9 from three-point territory.

SABOU GUEYE RECORDS FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE AS A FRIAR... Grad transfer Sabou Gueye picked up her first double-double as a Friar on Nov. 15 as she recorded 16 points and 12 boards vs. Boston College. It marked the third double-double of her career [recorded two at Florida A&M].

FRIARS GO 1-1 AT EMERALD COAST CLASSIC... Providence posted a 1-1 record at the Emerald Coast Classic on Nov. 24-25 in Niceville, Fla. The Friars opened tournament play with a 54-48 loss to Middle Tennessee State before taking down Alcorn State, 64-33, in the third-place game. Payton Dunbar averaged 13.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. Teneisia Brown also averaged 13.5 points and contributed 5.0 boards and 3.0 steals per contest. Orlagh Gormley averaged a team-best 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and added 8.5 points and 2.0 steals per game.

PAYTON DUNBAR NAMED TO EMERALD COAST CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM... Sophomore transfer Payton Dunbar was named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament team on Nov. 25. She averaged 13.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. She shot 42-percent from the field (10-24), including 35-percent from three-point territory. Dunbar paced the Friars with a game-high 19 points in a 64-33 victory over Alcorn State.

BIG DAY ON THE BOARDS VS. CCSU... The Friars recorded 55 rebounds against Central Connecticut on Nov. 10. It marked the most rebounds in a game for Providence since Nov. 9, 2013. On that day, the team hauled in a program-record 65 boards against UMass Lowell. Against CCSU, Teneisia Brown recorded a game-high 14 rebounds. A trio of Friars, including Sabou Gueye, Orlagh Gormley and Ashley Dinges each recorded eight rebounds.

FIRST DOUBLE-DOUBLE AS A FRIAR... Graduate transfer Teneisia Brown recorded her first double-double as a Friar, and 32nd of her career, on Nov. 10 vs. Central Connecticut. She finished the game with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Through eight games, Brown is averaging 9.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

TENEISIA BROWN ECLIPSES 1,200 CAREER POINTS... Grad transfer Teneisia Brown has eclipsed 1,200 points for her career. Brown arrived at Providence for her final season after stops at Merrimack (2020-22) and Fairleigh Dickinson (2023-25). She averaged double figures in the scoring column during each of her last three seasons of college basketball and currently ranks third on the team in scoring for the Friars through eight games (9.9 ppg). Brown has a career scoring total of 1,265 points heading into Thursday's game at Xavier.

PROVIDENCE DROPS SEASON OPENER TO HOWARD... The Friars were defeated by Howard, 68-56, in their season opener on Nov. 4 at Alumni Hall in Providence, R.I. The Bison used a 9-2 run in the final 3:15 of the third quarter, including a three at the buzzer, to claim a 50-39 lead heading into the fourth. Howard extended its lead to as many as 18 with 2:20 left to put the game out of reach. Providence managed to get within 64-54 with an 8-0 run, but the deficit proved too large to overcome. Sabou Gueye led the Friars with 16 points and four steals. Payton Dunbar tallied 12 points, four assists and two rebounds. Howard out-scored Providence 26-12 in points off turnovers. The Friars committed 20 miscues in the game, compared to Howard's 12 turnovers.

NEW LOOK FRIARS TAKE THE COURT IN 2025-26... The Friars have reloaded their roster for the 2025-26 season after losing 10 players to graduation (seven seniors and three graduate students). Junior Sophi Hall and sophomores Orlagh Gormley and Audrey Shields are the only returning players on the roster that previously saw game action in a Friar uniform. The remainder of this year's roster is made up of five transfer student-athletes, five true freshmen and one red-shirt freshman.

BROADCAST AND TV ASSIGNMENTS... As part of the BIG EAST's television and broadcast deal, the Friars will be featured on a host of network platforms encompassing television and streaming during the 2025-26 season, including FS1, TNT, truTV, Peacock and ESPN+. Additionally, Providence's games at the Emerald Coast Classic will be available on FloSports and its non-conference match-up at South Carolina will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Each of the Friars' home non-conference games will be broadcast live on ESPN+, in addition to 15 of the program's 20 BIG EAST Conference regular-season games. Television and streaming designations for each game are available on the women's basketball schedule via Friars.com.

ERIN BATTH RADIO SHOW TO MAKE SEASON DEBUT ON NOV. 20... The second episode of the Erin Batth Radio Show will air on Thursday, Dec. 18 from 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. The show, now in its third season, was developed via an existing partnership between Providence College Athletics, LEARFIELD'S Providence Friars Sports Properties and Cumulus Media Production. Listen live online at: https://www.thescore790.com or tune into 790AM. The show will also be available online via the Varsity Network app.

ERIN BATTH RADIO SHOW SCHEDULE • 790 THE SCORE

Dec. 18 • 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 8 • 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Feb. 19 • 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Mar. 5 • 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL... The Friars were picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, released at the league's annual media day on Oct. 21 at Madison Square Garden. Last season, Providence completed the year with a 13-19 overall record and claimed a seventh-place finish in the regular-season standings with a 6-12 conference record.

ERIN BATTH ERA... Erin Batth enters her third season with the Friars in 2025-26. She was hired as the 11th women's basketball coach in program history at Providence College on March 20, 2023. Batth arrived in Friartown with 17 years of NCAA Division I coaching experience, with her most recent stops coming at NC State (2018-22) and Michigan (2022-23). She has been part of five conference championships, eight NCAA Elite Eight appearances and three trips to the NCAA Sweet 16. She also served as an assistant coach at Liberty (2017-18), Georgia State (2014-17), Tennessee Tech (2012-14) and Towson (2010-12). Batth earned her first career win as a head coach on Nov. 7 vs. Hampton (76-46). She helped the Friars earn a bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in her first year at Providence in 2023-24.

WHAT'S NEXT... Providence College will head to Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. to face St. John's on Sunday, Dec. 7. The game is scheduled to tip at 2:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Teneisia Brown

Ashley Dinges

Payton Dunbar

Orlagh Gormley

Sabou Gueye

Sophi Hall

Audrey Shields

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Northeastern on November 18, 2025 , Win , 50, to, 45

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Yale University on November 21, 2025 , Win , 75, to, 64

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Middle Tennessee on November 24, 2025 , Loss , 48, to, 54

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Alcorn State on November 25, 2025 , Win , 64, to, 33

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus Bryant on November 30, 2025 , Win , 62, to, 53

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Xavier on December 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at St. John's on December 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Rhode Island on December 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Stonehill on December 13, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Georgetown on December 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM

Providence College Athletics